Mario and Friends - Christmas Term Chaos!
by Anonymous Girl Gamer
Summary: Mario, Luigi and the others have returned as eighth graders! What will the winter semester bring? Second instalment in the 'Mario and Friends' series.
1. Back to School

**Hi everyone! Here's the sequel to _Mario and Friends - Middle School!_ Like the last one, this is a humanised fic and anything that the characters say doesn't necessarily represent my opinion (like if they say something politically incorrect, anything along those lines). Also as you probably already know, Birdo is being introduced to the series, and while I'll refer to her as "she" in the narrative, some characters may see her as a boy (just a warning so nobody thinks I'm being disrespectful, I have nothing against transgender people). And unlike the last one, this one only takes place throughout a semester/term, not a full school year. And referring to the summary of this story, does "instalment" sound weird? Let me know if it does. So, without further ado, let's get started!**

 **Disclaimer: Every character and game mentioned in this fanfic belongs to Nintendo. Without them, this story wouldn't have been possible. (I won't bother putting this disclaimer on every chapter anymore - but if you think I should just to be safe, tell me in the reviews)**

* * *

Mario woke up bleary-eyed to the sound of his alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, looking at the time in confusion. Why had he set it for seven o'clock again, it was so early... Oh yeah, it was his first day back. Yay.

Okay, it wasn't the worst school in the world, even if the work was hard and Mr Toadsworth wasn't a very competent principal, and kept calling himself and his peers Master (insert name here) and Miss (insert name here). Oh, and of course there was Miss Kersti, his maths teacher. Mario fervently hoped she wouldn't be teaching him that year. In fact, he hoped she wouldn't be teaching at Toadstool Middle School at all.

He reluctantly left his warm bed, and pulled on a wrinkled red jumper he'd worn the day before and a pair of jeans. He grabbed a pair of white runners, and combed his hair. After brushing his teeth he headed downstairs, and of course, his twin brother Luigi was there before him, munching on his slice of toast at the table.

"Hey bro!" Luigi smiled. "Excited for school?"

"Yeah right. Good morning, Mamma and Papa."

"Good morning, Mario!"

Mario grabbed a bowl from the cupboard, and poured in some cereal and milk. He joined his family at the table, and ate his breakfast silently. After playing some video games, and making sure he had everything for the day, the time came for the twins to leave their house.

"So, Weegee," smirked Mario once they were out the door. "You still like Peach? You haven't said anything about her in ages."

To his surprise, Luigi didn't blush or stammer.

"Eh... I don't think I like her that much anymore."

"Hmm? How come?"

"I dunno. I guess I just... don't like her that way anymore. Anyway, I've more important stuff to be worrying about this year."

"Like what?"

"School work. Exams. Beating Waluigi at every possible moment."

"You're kidding me right?"

"What?"

"You're actually going to kill yourself studying just to do better than Waluigi? Come on Luigi, he's not worth your time."

"Heh... That last part was a joke. But I'm serious about the studying. Girls are just a distraction. Now that the work's gonna get tougher I'll have to up my game and start studying more than I did last year."

"Whatever you say, Weegee. Oh look, we're early for once," Mario noted as they approached the empty bus stop, save for a couple of high schoolers.

"And I guess we know whose fault that is."

"Hey, it's not my fault I don't hear my alarm, okay?"

Luigi rolled his eyes as they waited for a few minutes. He was pretty excited for eighth grade. He'd finally gotten over his crush on Peach, so this year he'd embarrass himself a lot less than before! When the bus arrived, they went straight to the two seats in front of where Yoshi was sitting, their best friend since elementary school.

"Hey guys!"

"Yoshi! Haven't seen you in a month now!" Mario playfully prodded Yoshi's stomach. "So, did you stick to your diet? Doesn't look like it!"

"Speak for yourself!" Yoshi grinned. "Anyway, how was Venice? You didn't send me any pics at all, or even text me," he added reproachfully.

"It was awesome! And yeah, here are the pictures we took," said Mario, flicking through the photos.

"Hmm, nice! Wish I was there!"

"Yeah. We had a great time, didn't we Luigi?" He nudged his twin, who hadn't spoken a word on the journey.

"Yep."

"What is it Luigi? Cat got your tongue?" Yoshi joked in an old lady's voice as the twins snorted with laughter. They continued to tell jokes and laugh some more as the bus drove past all of the houses and streets, and after a while, they saw their school from the window. Everyone hopped off the bus, and walked towards the school entrance.

"Do we keep our lockers from last year?" asked Mario.

"Yep. We keep them til we go into high school, then they're changed around. Don't you listen to anything Mr Toadsworth says?"

"Okay Mama Luigi, I promise I'll listen next time..."

"And don't call me Mama Luigi."

They opened the doors of their lockers, and once they'd put their things inside, they decided to walk around the building before classes began. Just as they'd gotten out the door, they bumped into Peach and Daisy, who'd clearly had the same idea. Luigi was quite pleased with himself. He didn't feel awkward, or at least not too awkward around the blonde, so now he knew for sure that he was definitely over her. His eyes then started to focus on Daisy, and... wow... she had changed so much... Gone was the chubby, scruffy redhead who had let herself be a victim of bullying. In her place stood a suntanned, slightly curvy girl, with hair cut to her shoulders and a smile that radiated confidence.

"Hey guys! Hey Luigi!" Daisy greeted cheerfully.

"Uh, hey!"

"Wow, Luigi!" she exclaimed. "You look so different without your glasses!"

"Heh heh, yeah. Glad I finally got rid of them, heh heh!"

Luigi had, at last, gotten over his fear of wearing contacts, and the fact that he'd also had his braces removed over the summer was the icing on the cake.

"So," said Peach. "How did your summer go?"

"Great!" said Yoshi. "Not that I did anything special, but... I guess it was just time off school."

"Yeah. Well, I have to go to my locker now, so we'd better get going. Bye guys!"

"Bye..."

Once the girls were gone, they started to walk. It was then that Luigi realised that Daisy was quite pretty. Not that he had a crush on her, oh no, not at all! But there was no denying that she had become good-looking in the past few months...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Yoshi sniggering.

"Yoohoo? Earth to Mario?" he was saying, waving his hand over Mario's face.

"Wow..." he said, with a slight smile and a dreamy expression in his eyes. "Since when did Daisy get so hot..."

Both Yoshi and Luigi laughed.

"Never thought you'd end up liking Daisy of all people," Yoshi remarked, smirking when Mario's face flushed a little.

"Yeah... So..." Luigi said, changing the subject. "Where's Toad?"

"Yeah, where is Toad?"

"I dunno. I guess we'll find him later. I don't think we've much time left anyway."

"Yeah," Luigi agreed, checking his watch. "There's only a minute left to the bell."

Sure enough, the words were barely out of his mouth before the dreaded bell resounded in their ears. At least this year, now that they were eighth graders, they knew all of the rules and regulations of this place, and were aware that their homeroom was in the same place as the previous year. Wow, it'd be weird not to be the "babies" anymore...

They got inside the classroom to find their friend Toad practically on his own, save for one or two others, clearly among the first to arrive. Good old Toad, organised as always!

"Hey Toad," Mario smiled, taking a seat next to him, followed by Luigi and Yoshi. "Tired, huh?"

"Yeah..." he groaned.

"Same with me. I guess we'll get used to it after a while, right Mario?" Yoshi joked.

"Yeah right."

"Umm, guys? Guess what?"

"What?"

"Well I've two things to tell you... First off... wait for it... Miss Kersti's not teaching us this year!"

Mario grinned. "You're kidding! How do you know?"

"Our cousin Toadbert found out. Who knows how he got the news, but... there it is."

"Awesome... And... what else did you want to tell us?"

"Umm, okay... Well there's a new person in our class, not sure but I heard people saying her name's Birdo. Look behind you. No, not all at the same time!" he said as all three turned their heads. "Too late..."

A girl with longish brown hair and purple eye-shadow sat on her own at the back of the classroom.

"Cool," said Mario. "She looks okay, I guess."

"Yeah, but..." Toad fiddled with his hands uncomfortably. "You see... She's not really a "she"... um..."

"Huh?"

"She... she's actually a boy."

"Really?" said Luigi, his eyes wide. "But..." He looked at her again. At closer inspection, she did have a rather wide neck and rather manly features, but... "How do you know that, Toad?"

"Aww, you know, rumours go around, and... yeah. I don't mean that in a bad way, obviously, but... it's not something you see everyday, you know?"

"She's not a circus freak," said Yoshi abruptly. All eyes turned to look at him, causing him to blush slightly, but he didn't flinch. "I mean, I know she's different. But... I mean, you're all talking about her as if she's weird. I dunno... I don't think we should be talking like that about her. She's a person. That's all that matters."

Toad and the twins were speechless. This was pretty deep, coming from the chilled out, carefree Yoshi.

"You're right, Yoshi. I... I'm sorry. That came out kinda wrong, I... sorry."

Yoshi nodded, as Mr Piranha walked into the room.

"Everyone, sit down, sit down! Welcome back..."

But, one student was barely listening to his voice, as he turned around to glance at Birdo once more. She smiled slightly, and gave him a wink. Yoshi hastily faced forward, his face flushed red and his heart beating faster.

Was... was he falling for... Birdo?

Ugh... Why oh why hadn't he stuck to his diet?

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 **I didn't bother writing how the full day at school went, since I don't think people want to reread the rules and regulations being explained by the teachers, which I've already written in the first fic. By the way I won't be re-explaining what happened in the first fic in this series, so if anyone has questions regarding the plot or if anyone's confused, ask me whatever you want to know in the reviews. And tell me what you think of this chapter too! Bye!**


	2. Love and Friendship

**Hi! By the way, if you haven't read the first fic in this series you might be a little confused when you read this chapter. I'd strongly recommend that you read the first one if you haven't already, but if you don't want to do that you can ask me any questions regarding the plot in the reviews.**

 **aiai3668:** **Here's the second chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

 **Tsukimine12:** **Thank you for the review!**

 **Yoshi with a Moustache:** **Yeah, good times, huh? Now that I've moved on from middle school age everything feels more complicated. Also, I was reading the first fic in this series, and while I'm more or less happy with how it turned out, there's quite a lot I'd change about it, especially the awkward transitions from character to character, which I'm trying to avoid here. And I'm glad you think I addressed the thing with Birdo well, I was a little apprehensive that people wouldn't like how I did it. Thanks for the review!**

 **Thanks to Yoshi with a Moustache for favouriting and Destine Star for following this fic!**

* * *

"... But Daisy, listen to this, you won't believe what happened next. So then I said to him, "I'm sorry Bowser, but I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking me out. You already know what I'm going to say." I said the right thing, didn't I?"

"Yep. I mean, you shouldn't even have to be so nice about it or apologise for not liking him. He's the one who should be sorry for all the times he's tried to intimidate you into going out with him, Peach. I mean, this is borderline harassment!"

"Yeah... it's really annoying. I mean, it is a new school year, you'd think he'd have stopped by now! But anyway, he got really mad, and he started shouting at me, he said he knew how I really felt about him, so could I stop playing games!"

"What the heck?"

"I know, he's so weird! I thought that by being nice he'd stop, but it doesn't look like it. If anything, he's just getting worse! Maybe I should start being harsh with him..."

"Yeah, maybe you should. This has gone out of hand. He says that he wants to go out with you and then he insults you like this... I mean, that's not okay! You shouldn't have to take that Peach! Heh... I wish I could have given myself that advice last year."

"Yeah. At least that bullying thing is all over now."

"Yeah."

Both Peach and Daisy glanced at Mimi and Pauline, sitting at separate tables, and then at Toadette, at the loner's table.

"Hmm... Toadette looks so lonely, doesn't she?" Peach murmured.

"Pfff, she deserves it. I'm not gonna forgive her. Ever."

"Hmm, well... it's kind of sad though, Pauline and Mimi were worse and they still have more friends than Toadette."

"Yeah... so...?"

"... So I think it's time we left the past behind us and befriended Toadette."

"... You're kidding me right?"

"Nope. Don't think I'm making excuses for what she did, I'm not, but... maybe she's sorry now. She was never that bad. Personally I think she just got involved with the wrong people."

"Speak for yourself, Peach. I wouldn't want to be near her if she was the last person in the world. Not after what she did to me."

"Well, I want to talk to her. I don't think she's as bad as you're making out, Daisy."

"Fine then. I'll go hang out with Luigi and the other guys. And maybe I'll try and see if I can get Mario to like me..."

"Oh, so you're going to talk to him? Cute! Remember last year when you were too shy to even say hi to him?"

"That was last year. I'm a new person this year Peach, inside and out, _except_ I still hate Mimi, and Pauline, and Toadette!"

"Hmm. Have it your way then. See you."

"Bye."

Peach sighed heavily. They were best friends, but herself and her cousin didn't always agree. She proceeded to take her fruit salad and ham sandwich off her table, walk across the canteen and sit next to Toadette.

"Hi," she said, waving awkwardly. "Mind if I sit here?"

Toadette gawped at her in surprise.

"Uh, yeah. You sure?"

"Yep. Are you... are you okay? You looked kind of lonesome."

"I guess so..." she replied, blushing. A week on, and she still hadn't made any new friends. So much for the fresh start. The only person who seemed to want to talk to her was her brother Toad, and even he hung around with Mario and Luigi and Yoshi a lot more than with her. But now, it looked as if Peach might have forgiven her for what she'd taken part in the previous year. Or was she taking revenge... Eh. A little hope wouldn't do any harm.

"So...?" said Peach, fiddling with her fingers. "How are things?"

Not great. Not great at all.

"Good, I guess...?"

There was an awkward silence as Peach thought of what else to say.

"So... any tests?"

"Oh, no, I've none so far."

Peach groaned internally. This was going a lot worse than she'd expected.

"Um, uh..." she said desperately. "Any news at all?"

"Oh um, not really..."

"Oh, umm... oh. I see."

How on earth was she going to keep up the conversation? She should have just listened to Daisy. She wondered how she was getting on with Mario...

* * *

Daisy was a little huffy as she as she made her way around the school building, in search of Luigi and the gang. There were times when Peach could be so, well, impossible! Toadette was a bully. No question about it. Okay, she was nicer than the other two, but if she was that nice she wouldn't have stuck around them in the first place.

How was she going to approach the boys, anyway? Would it seem a bit... random? Well, she could just tell the truth and say that herself and Peach had had a bit of a tiff and that was the reason why she was walking around alone.

As predicted, and in less time than she thought it would have taken, she bumped into Luigi, Toad, Yoshi and... Mario... Mario with his big blue eyes and cute smile... Yep, she still felt the same way about him...

"H-hey guys..."

"Hi Daisy," said Luigi.

"Where's Peach?" Yoshi questioned.

"Eh, we had a bit of a... disagreement."

"Oh."

"So... mind if I hang out with you instead?"

"Ah yes, of course!" said Mario with an enthusiastic smile. "Great to see you again, Daisy."

Daisy stared at him in disbelief for a second or two before looking away. Mario seemed so happy to see her... He wasn't like this around her last year, she was sure, not that he'd ignored her but he just never made the effort to interact with her. Maybe a relationship between them was possible after all! She realised, then, that she had no idea how to flirt. The other boys carried on talking, but she paid no attention to them as she tried to sneak looks at Mario. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching her too. Whenever her eyes fell on him, he hastily dragged his own away. Or maybe she was making him uncomfortable? Oh crap, she'd better stop.

"So, Luigi," said Toad innocently, not knowing how he currently felt about her. "Speaking of Peach... You still like her?"

They'd been talking about Peach? She hadn't even noticed.

"Shut up, I don't even like her that way anymore!" said Luigi in panic. The last thing he wanted was for Peach's best friend to find out about his crush on the blonde the previous year.

"Who? What? Am I missing something here?"

"Oh yeah, Luigi likes..." Toad started.

"No Daisy, no, it's not what it sounds like," answered the red-faced Luigi, hearing Mario chuckle quietly. "So you see, uhh, yeah well, umm, you see Daisy, I-I, these guys, they thought I liked Peach, you see, but it's not true at all, I mean we were just kinda friends, yeah, and..."

"Hey, calm down, calm down!" Daisy giggled. "You don't need to explain yourself, it's fine, I know you didn't like her like that, okay?"

"Oh... y-yeah..." said Luigi, almost sighing with relief.

"How about you, Mario?" Yoshi smirked. "How's your love life going?"

Mario's face went the colour of his shirt. "Not now, Yoshi..."

"Aww, c'mon..."

"Shut up, you already know who I like..."

"C'mon, I'm sure Daisy wants to know, right Mario?"

Daisy gave Yoshi a fake smile. Mario obviously liked someone else. It couldn't be her. It couldn't.

Yoshi let it drop, but when nobody was looking, he gave her a wink and a nod.

"What?" she muttered, furrowing her eyebrows at him.

He smirked again, secretly pointing at Mario for a second, making the shape of a heart with his hands, then pointing at her.

"Me...?" she mouthed. He responded with another nod. Mario liked... her? Her? She looked at her crush, who happened to be staring at her. In a moment of sudden courage, she gave him a tiny wink. His eyes widened a little, and he returned the gesture with a smile.

"Anyway..." Yoshi drawled, who'd noticed what had taken place between Daisy and Mario. "I... I just remembered. I forgot to get my geography book from my locker. Toad, Luigi? Coming?"

"Huh...? Oh yeah, sure, yeah!" Toad smirked, getting the message. "Come on Luigi!"

Luigi followed his two friends, and within minutes, Daisy was alone with her crush. What to do, what would she do now...

"Heh... so, Daisy," Mario said. "Uhh... sorry about my friends, they're kinda immature and... yeah. Sorry."

Daisy hid a smile. She'd watched Mario a lot throughout the previous year, and if anyone was immature, it was him. Like the time he'd eaten five bags of popcorn during a game of truth and dare, and his jokes, which were so horrible, but so hilarious because he was the one saying them. But she hid a smile, and let the subject drop.

"It's fine."

"Yeah. Heh heh..." He took a deep breath. "Look Daisy, Yoshi... heh... you probably know how I, umm... feel about you by now... heh heh..." His face was the colour of a tomato as he struggled with what to say. "I mean... Daisy, I... you... uhh..."

Daisy smiled. " _Looks like Mario and Luigi aren't that different after all,"_ she thought. " _I guess everyone has a shy side, even if they don't always show it._ "

"Will you go out with me?" he blurted out.

"Go out with you?"

"Yeah, umm... so? Uhh... it's okay if you don't want to..."

"Are you kidding?"

"Oh... yeah. Ahem. Sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked you anything..."

"I mean, Mario... Yeah! Of course! I've liked you since like, forever! Heh... Since last year!"

"Oh... you did?"

"Yep."

"Oh, heh heh..." he said with a grin, scratching the back of his neck. "Well... so I guess we're going out now."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other for a few moments, until both of them turned red.

"And I guess this is when we, um... kiss," said Mario.

"Yeah..." Daisy said, hardly able to believe what she'd just heard. "I... guess so!"

They looked around them in case anyone was watching. Luckily they were at the back of the school, where teachers were unlikely to see them and put them into detention after school. They leaned in closer, their lips almost touching. And then, it happened. Mario kissed her. Kissed her, just like he'd done in her daydreams the year before. Well, maybe not exactly. His large nose hadn't collided with hers right before they'd started kissing, for example, and she could have sworn there wasn't such a height difference between them. But as his mouth tentatively claimed hers, she couldn't have asked for anything more.

Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back.

"Huh..."

"We'd better stop," he said. "What if a teacher sees us..."

"Yeah," she replied reluctantly. "We'd better."

"But... there will be a next time. Some place where we won't have to worry about the teachers catching us. Right?"

"Oh yeah, sure!"

Again they stared at each other, unable to turn away, but the spell was broken by the dreaded school bell.

"I guess we'd better go to our classes," said Mario. "What do you have? I've math."

"Oh yeah, me too."

"You do? Hey... you're in my math class, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Aww, cool, I forgot about that! So... wanna sit next to me? I'm sure Luigi won't mind."

"Yeah, sure! At least Mr Bleck lets us sit wherever we want. Remember Miss Kersti... ugh..."

"You hated her too? Daisy, I... you're my soulmate, you have to be! You and me, we're meant to be together!"

Daisy giggled and poked him in the ribs. "Hey, we're not at that stage yet! We've only been going out for like, fifteen minutes Mario!"

He chuckled, and both continued to laugh and joke with each other as they walked to their classroom. And as Yoshi noticed them sit together, right behind himself and Toad, he knew he'd accomplished his mission in getting Mario to spend time with his crush. All Mario needed was a little push from a friend.

Now, going back to his own love life... How on earth was he going to talk to Birdo?

* * *

 **How on earth is he going to talk to Birdo, indeed... Well, quite a lot happened in this chapter, compared to the last one! Since it's both Mario and Daisy's first time in a romantic relationship, I thought it'd be more realistic if they were awkward, despite the fact that they're confident in the games (though Mario, even in the games, seems to have a shy side around Peach - so it makes sense that he'd be embarrassed around his crush at the moment, which is Daisy). And actually, while I referenced her crush on Mario a few times, I've never really developed on it in the other fic, since I focused more on the fact that she's being bullied. This is to show that she's more confident this year, and while still a little shy around him, she is now brave enough to talk to him. That said, please review!**


	3. The Girl with the Red Hair

**Hello! Unfortunately, Wario and Waluigi won't be very prominent in this story, but I did decide to dedicate one chapter to them. Enjoy!**

 **aiai3668:** **Yeah, I probably would have too. Good thing it turned out alright in the end! Thanks for the review!**

 **Yoshi with a** **Moustache:** **Glad you like it and thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Mariocest for following and favouriting, and aiai3668 and Ariole195 for following!**

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"Wario? Are you listening?"

"What... Yeah, yeah, just tired."

Wario stifled a yawn as he sat in the canteen with Waluigi, a.k.a. the biggest pessimist in Toadstool Middle School and Toadstool High School combined. He hadn't changed at all since the year before: he was still going on about Luigi. Yes, still. Wario doubted Luigi even hated Waluigi anymore; that fight for grades had gotten stale over time and besides, it was immature now that they were in eighth grade. It almost made him want to reconsider his life choices from the previous year: was the money really worth hanging around Mr Negativity every recess?

He looked around the canteen. He could see Mario and Luigi and Toad and Yoshi, his old friends, talking and laughing at a table. He turned away; they weren't his buddies anymore, not after he aided Waluigi in his mission to get revenge on Luigi. Eventually his gaze rested on a girl with red hair. A seventh grader, without a doubt; they had that air of innocence that the rest of the school had lost, even the eighth graders themselves. He narrowed his eyes as she hurriedly looked down, acting casual. He'd noticed her watching him for a while, which made him suspicious. Very suspicious indeed. Wario Mario wasn't known for being the most attractive guy, after all.

"Hey, Waluigi," he said, prodding him in the ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That actually hurt? You're more of a wuss than I thought, Waluigi. Maybe if you started eating more it'd hurt less if I poked you."

"Wah! I eat the same as you!"

Wario gave him a sceptical look.

"Wah, okay. Maybe I don't eat as much as you. But I still eat more than you think!"

"Sure. Anyway... see that girl over there?"

"Where?"

"The ginger one."

"That one?"

"Don't point, idiot! Yeah, that one."

"I don't know. Why?"

"I dunno. I get the feeling she's watching me. It gives me the creeps."

"Maybe she likes you." Waluigi said, not very convincingly, with a shrug of his thin shoulders. Everyone was in agreement that Wario was one of if not the ugliest guy in school.

"Yeah, see? There she's at it again. Freak."

"Go ask her what's her problem."

"Yeah. Maybe I will."

Wario flexed his muscles as he stood up, followed by Waluigi, as they walked across the canteen in the girl's direction. The girl blinked in confusion as she saw them come up to her, angry and tough.

Wario crossed his arms, putting his face so close to hers she could feel his spittle and smell the garlic from his breath as he spoke.

"What. Is your. Problem?" he asked.

The girl furrowed her eyebrows. "Problem? What do you mean?"

"What do I mean..." he laughed, before returning to his tough act. "What do you think I mean, freak? Think I look funny or something? Why the heck are you staring at me every day, huh?"

The girl grinned. _Grinned_. Here he was, with his toughest demeanour, his face intimidatingly close to hers, and she had the gall to laugh at him. Wario growled.

"What?" she said, still with that big smile. "Can't I look at people? I'm Mona. Nice to meet you. I'm in seventh grade. What grade are you in?"

Wario stared at her outstretched hand, his large mouth agape. How did you react when a girl a whole year younger than you - quite the age gap in middle school - smiled, greeted you, introduced herself and held out a hand to shake... all after shouting and acting daunting? He shook his head slowly. This wasn't supposed to happen, this didn't make any sense...

"Well? What grade are you in?"

"Uhh... eighth grade... we're both in eighth grade..." He stammered. "My name's Wario... and he's Waluigi."

"Nice. Well, I'm kind of busy right now so I've got to go. Bye Wario! Bye Waluigi! Oh, and by the way, I meant to tell you..." Mona tapped Wario's nose with her index finger. "You have a cute nose."

And then she left, leaving a very stunned Wario staring after her, along with an equally puzzled Waluigi.

"Well," the taller friend said. "Looks like she has a crush on you after all, Wario."

Wario shook his head yet again, as if trying to shake away his bewilderment. _What_ had happened to his life?

* * *

 **Very short chapter, I know. Oh yeah, and about Mona saying Wario's nose is cute... I can't remember where I found that, but I could have sworn she said that before. Also, this chapter is nothing like the rough draft (which was so terrible, I'm embarrassed to say that I wrote that crap. Thankfully, nobody will ever see the atrocity in question). I originally had Mona with a more hyper personality, too, but I wasn't sure if it was realistic, so she's much calmer here. Please review!**


	4. Talking to Birdo

**I'm back! I hope I wrote this chapter with tact and respect.**

 **Guy** **fieri : Glad you liked it! I must admit I'd taken a lot longer than usual to put up the third chapter, I just had a bit of writer's block coupled with lack of time. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to fan no. j for following and favouriting my story!**

* * *

"I'd like you all to partner up to draw a poster during today and tomorrow's class, based on the novel we have studied."

Yoshi sighed audibly as the teacher finished her speech. Studying that novel was possibly the most boring thing they had done since they had started eighth grade, not to mention that he was no Leonardo da Vinci when it came to drawing.

He glanced at Toad, sitting two seats away from him. He was the most obvious choice for a partner. After all, they were best friends. Not to mention that Toad was reasonably smart, smarter than Yoshi at any rate, and a bit better at drawing.

From there his thoughts drifted to Birdo, sitting at the front of the classroom. Her mousy brown hair was tied in a medium ponytail that swished when she turned around to get a box of coloured pencils from her schoolbag. He shook his head slightly. Why would he partner up with Birdo? He knew next to nothing about her, though he had her face memorised from the multiple times he'd watched her: tanned skin, dark eyes, large mouth, and always wearing that purple eye shadow, no matter what.

"Everyone, pick your partners!"

Yoshi snapped out of his daydreams; he'd missed everything the teacher had said, and had no real idea of what they were supposed to do.

He looked at Toad, who gave him a nod, starting to approach his table.

Was this what he really wanted?

He liked Toad a lot, despite his tendency to despair when things went wrong, his constant fretting about life, his occasional tactlessness. But Toad's bluntness was exactly what was stopping Yoshi from being honest with his friend: while he would enjoy working with Toad, he wanted to get to know Birdo a little better. She wasn't just the "transgender girl" as a few people in his year put it: there had to be more to her. And he wanted to know what was beneath the surface, but he was also afraid of what Toad would make of that.

He gave Birdo a quick look. She didn't look lost, like an awkward, partner-less person would usually appear, but confident, almost defiant at the world around her, the people who wouldn't give her a chance because she was a little different.

"Uhh, Toad?" he said before he could stop himself. "I-I'm working with Birdo. I... I hope you don't mind."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I... yeah."

Toad gave him a funny look, but dropped the subject, to his relief. However, as he strolled to Birdo's desk, he felt even more afraid than when he was telling Toad what he wanted to do instead. His hands felt clammy: how did you talk to someone you liked? He thought of when he had forced Mario and Daisy to be alone, and felt guilty. Now that he knew how awkward it could be, he wouldn't be pulling that trick on a friend again any time soon.

He felt himself blushing, and tried to look Birdo in the eye as he spoke, though it made him feel all the more embarrassed.

"Uhh..." He said. "Hi... I..." _Real smooth, Yoshi,_ he thought, wanting to kick himself.

Birdo blinked. "Yeah?"

"Uhh, I was thinking... Can I work with you?"

She smiled. "Yeah, sure. And you don't need to be so afraid of asking, you know. I'm a nice person, once you get to know me." She winked, causing his face to turn even redder as he took a seat next to her.

"So, Birdo." He scratched the back of his neck, lowering his eyes, unaware of how adorable that gesture was from Birdo's point of view. "I-I wasn't really listening there, so... can you tell me what's going on here? Like I know we have to do a poster about the novel, but..."

"That's all you need to know, really. She was just yapping on and on, I was like, will you just _stop_!" She rolled her eyes, and Yoshi chuckled. "So, are you any good at drawing?"

"Nope. How about you?"

"Not really. I'm not bad at art, though, I mean, I love makeup. Makeup is an art, right?"

Yoshi thought about it. "Yeah. I guess. You're basically painting your face, so yeah."

Birdo laughed. "We'd better get going with this. I think we should draw two people looking into each other's eyes. Just their faces, so it's not too hard."

"Then we can draw a heart in the middle, so people know it's a poster based on a romance novel, not a story about two mad people staring at each other for no reason." Birdo laughed harder, and Yoshi was encouraged to continue. "What? That's what it'll look like if _I_ draw it. Like this." He widened his eyes til they looked like they were about to pop out, and gave a mad, toothy grin. At that stage, Birdo had tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks.

"Now that you know just how bad I am at drawing," Yoshi smirked, "I think we both know who should do that job."

"Okay," Birdo said, her shoulders still shaking with mirth. "I'll do the drawing. You can get the credit for the ideas. And the humour."

Birdo took out a pencil, and quickly sketched an image of two people looking into each other's eyes, with a big love-heart in the background.

"Sorry it's not great," she said.

"I think it's good. Maybe I should colour it, just so I can say I did something."

Birdo glanced at her watch. "Hmm... we've only five minutes left. I don't think we'll have much time."

"Oh. Well, tomorrow! I'll do it tomorrow."

"Yeah. Anyway, I was wondering. I'm very busy this week, but... do you want to go on a date with me on Saturday? Not this week, but next week? I'm free that day."

Yoshi simply gawped at her as she smiled and batted her eyelids. A date? With him? Birdo, his crush since the start of the year, wanted a date with the disgustingly obese Yoshi?

"Uhh, yeah, s-sure," he stammered.

The bell rang at that moment, as Birdo packed away her things. "That's great," she said. "I was worried you'd say no. I'm not exactly every boy's dream, you know? They don't want to go out with another "boy", as they sometimes like to call me."

"Oh," Yoshi uttered, unsure of how to respond at her sudden bitter tone. "Well... see you tomorrow, Birdo."

As Yoshi walked out of the classroom that day, he couldn't remember ever being this happy since he'd started middle school. A date with a girl he liked, someone he'd originally thought he had no chance with. What could be better?

* * *

 **Again, I hope I wasn't disrespectful against transgender people, but at the same time I wanted this to be realistic: not everyone is very accepting in the real world. Please review!**


	5. A Good Day For Daisy

**Hi! Just to avoid confusion, this takes place in the same week as last chapter.**

 **aiai3668: I'm glad you liked it! I was worried in case I was being disrespectful. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **James Birdsong: I'm happy you liked my story and thank you for the review!**

 **Infinite's Ruby: I agree, Yoshi and Birdo are actually quite a cute couple, perhaps even a bit underrated. Glad you liked it!**

 **Derick Lindsey: Yeah, this part of the series will focus a lot more on Yoshi, among other characters. And I'm also glad you think I'm handling it well! Yoshi is the one who has really moved on, but even Toad is more accepting (apart from the funny look he gave Yoshi he didn't say anything). Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to felixthecat123 for following!**

* * *

"You know, Daisy... I noticed something a little odd lately. It's been bugging me for a while now."

Daisy turned to Peach as they ate in the canteen. By then, the two friends had gotten over their little argument, if it could even be called that. Not that it meant she'd be talking to Toadette any time soon - she'd hurt her too much for that - but if Peach wanted to, it was her choice, as long as she didn't involve Daisy.

"What do you mean, Peach?" Daisy mumbled through her food.

"Eww, Daisy... swallow that down!"

"Sorry. Anyway," she said, gulping down the rest of her sandwich, "what were you saying?"

"I saw a picture of Miss Tippi on Mr Bleck's desk. Did you ever see it?"

"No. And who's Miss Tippi?""

"Oh, she's my science teacher."

"Okay. Why would he have a picture of a teacher?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought was strange."

"Maybe it's someone else."

"Maybe."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm... I've great news! I'll give you three guesses."

Peach smiled. "Okay. You're going on a date with Mario."

"Yes! How did you know?"

"Lucky guess? He's all you talk about lately."

"I do not!"

"You do!"

"Hmm. Anyway, I was thinking. Do you want to come along with us?"

"Oh no Daisy, I couldn't. I'd feel like a third wheeler. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather be alone with Mario."

"I don't really mind, but... come on, it'll be fun! And you could bring a guy so you won't be third wheeling. You could bring, let me see, Bowser! I'm sure he'd love to go with you!"

Peach glared at her friend, whose mouth was twisted into a mischievous grin.

"Just kidding. Jeez. Okay, I'm serious now. How about Luigi?"

"Why Luigi?"

"He's my best friend. After you, of course."

"No Daisy. He's a nice guy, but..."

"Fine. Don't come," she said with a pout.

"Okay, I'll go."

"But who'll be your date?"

"I'll take Luigi, if you want."

"Great! You'd better help me with what to wear, Peach. You've a better eye for fashion than I do."

As Peach blabbered on about all the dresses in Daisy's wardrobe, the redhead couldn't repress an excited smile. She couldn't wait for Saturday night, and she was sure Luigi wouldn't mind a date with Peach.

* * *

Luigi turned from pale to red in a matter of seconds.

"N-no Daisy. I - I can't!"

"But Luigi, please!"

"I'm no good with girls and you know it."

"Yeah, but... just do it? Please?"

"Daisy, you don't understand, I can't and I won't do it!"

Very well, then. Time to widen her eyes and look pitiful.

"I don't think you understand how much this means to me, Luigi," she said with a disappointed sigh and a sorrowful expression. "I've never been on a date before. It's just... it's hard to find a date for Peach, she's really picky about guys, and... I just thought you'd be perfect. But it's okay. I respect that it's your decision, and-"

"Ooh, okay. I'll do it."

"Aww, thanks Luigi! You're so sweet! You're my bestest friend ever!" Daisy enveloped him in a bear hug, leaving him paralysed for a few seconds at the sudden affection. It almost made him glad he'd said yes. Almost.

"Heh..." he interjected, chuckling shyly and not really knowing what to say. "And uhh, by the way, bestest-"

"Isn't a word, I know."

* * *

As if convincing her two best friends to go on a date with each other wasn't good enough, they were doing tennis that day in P.E., one of her favourite sports. As she put on her orange shorts that had once been so tight around her waist, Daisy couldn't believe that she'd hated the subject less than a year before.

After some excited small talk with her best friend, the P.E. teacher asked the class to pair up. They were to compete against each other, and the first to win five points was the winner. Peach asked Daisy to be her partner, but instead of nodding like she expected, Daisy shook her head, smiling mischievously for the second time that day.

"Why not?" Peach asked.

Daisy shrugged, her grin widening.

"Daisy? Whenever you smile like that, it means you're up to no good."

Peach followed Daisy's gaze. The redhead's blue eyes were fixed on the blonde girl who had given her so much trouble in seventh grade, the one who, with her hair tied into two ponytails and her sweet smile, looked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, a facade that hid her aggressive, bullying ways.

"Daisy!" Peach said in a warning tone, as Daisy headed in Mimi's direction. But it was too late for her to intervene, as Daisy was already speaking to one of her worst enemies.

"Mimi." Daisy crossed her arms, using her taller height as an advantage, a way of looking more intimidating. Mimi raised her eyebrows, evidently surprised.

"Wanna pair up, Mimi?" the redhead spat.

Mimi sighed. "Yeah right. I bet you're as bad at tennis as last year. Wouldn't want your fragile self-esteem to go down again, would we?"

"You haven't changed," Daisy said. But in a way, she had: Mimi's voice lacked the same malice of the previous year, and sounded tired. _Probably exhausted from bullying me all year,_ Daisy thought ruefully.

Everyone went to the corner of the P.E. hall to grab their rackets and tennis ball, and after a few minutes of hitting the ball in turn, Daisy gave a triumphant smirk to Mimi. She'd beaten her, five points to two. So much for all the times Mimi had mocked her sporting skills.

"Am I any better than last year, Mimi?" Daisy asked innocently, her smirk vanishing.

Mimi rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply. And as for Daisy, her day couldn't have gotten better than that. She had defeated Mimi, in more ways than one.

* * *

 **This chapter had a bit more dialogue than the last one. Hopefully you liked it - please let me know!**


	6. Double Date

**This chapter also takes place in the same week. Enjoy! And by the way, the movie I mentioned in this chapter is made up and if there's any real movie with that title it's a coincidence.**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **I'm glad you like how I'm portraying Daisy and thanks for the review!**

 **Derick Lindsey:** **There's not much I can say in response to your review without mentioning spoilers, but I can tell you that I have a lot of plans for Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy, and... I would say just read this chapter:-) There will be a twist. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like my story!**

 **Ariole195: Yeah, it really was a good day for Daisy - it was just one of those times when everything goes well, in contrast to the previous year when she was getting bullied and taunted all the time. Thanks for the review!**

 **Candela Monsoon:** **Yeah, Daisy really needs support after the bad year she had in the last story. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to NMochi for following, and Dolfijn5 and HiyaItsTails for following and favouriting!**

* * *

He was sitting at the front row of the cinema, Peach on one side, Daisy on the other. The latter was talking to Mario; why wouldn't she be? They were going out now. This was their double date, the event he'd been dreading since Daisy had virtually forced him into it.

He wasn't sure why, but he was unable to concentrate on the movie - instead, his eyes kept drifting to the redhead next to him. She wasn't wearing her usual bright attire, which he thought to be odd but didn't spend too much time dwelling on it.

"Luigi?"

He jumped, turning to his blonde date. This whole event was a disaster: his hands felt clammy from sweat, and he was sure his face was bright red from all the times he'd embarrassed himself in front of her. He couldn't recall exactly all the things he'd said to her, but he knew, somehow, that he'd offended her a lot.

"Why are you staring at Daisy?"

Peach quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms, her eyes an icy shade of blue. A deep feeling of panic emerged as he felt his face heat up even more. Rule number one: never be caught staring at another girl when you're with your date. Hadn't Mario said that to him all the way back in seventh grade, when he'd been trying to teach Luigi the near impossible art of interacting with girls?

"I hate you," Peach snarled, slapping his face, grabbing him by the collar and kicking him, punching him, all while Daisy and Mario laughed mockingly. Peach had always been a little taller than him, but now she was double his height, her pretty face twisted into a vicious smirk.

"You'll never get a girl!" Mario said.

"He's right," Daisy sneered. "It's just never going to happen. Klutzy guys don't get girls!"

The whole room began to chant Daisy's last sentence, as Peach continued to beat him with her fists and kick him in the ribs.

"I knew something like this would happen!" Peach cackled.

The last thing he heard before he faded into unconsciousness were his friends' taunts. Why had he done this, why, why...

* * *

Luigi sat up in his bunk, his breaths shallow. Where was he? Was he in hospital after what had happened? Hospitals didn't have such dark lighting though...

It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

Phew.

He flopped back down on his bed, his breathing slowing. He checked his digital alarm clock; it read 5:00. He was rather superstitious as a person, and he was sure that this was a premonition, a warning. If he hadn't been convinced before that he should not go on a date with Peach, this dream made the decision for him. There was no way he was risking his mediocre reputation with his peers. Not to mention that he suddenly didn't feel so good about Mario going out with Daisy...

He'd never been _that_ happy with his brother liking one of his best friends, and getting her. Since Mario and Daisy had become an item at the start of eighth grade, he'd always felt a bit off watching them flirt with each other, but he'd passed it off as mild jealousy - while his twin had gotten a girlfriend, he remained single.

Now, he wasn't so sure if that was the case. After that dream, perhaps he was envious of the fact that Mario had gotten Daisy specifically? Would he have felt the same if Mario had asked, say, Toadette out?

He thought about it. The answer, though he hated to admit it, was 'no'.

Was he really falling for Daisy? He contemplated on that too, but the response was also a 'no'. However, after further thought, he realised that he might have a slight crush on her. She was pretty, upbeat, and confident, opposite to Luigi in many ways, but that was what he liked the most about her.

That said, perhaps the answer wasn't so much a 'no' as a 'maybe'. But it wasn't too late to stop his feelings from progressing. He only liked her a little, so it shouldn't be that hard. Besides, he still felt shy around Peach, so he couldn't like Daisy that much if he still had a fading, but lingering crush on the blonde.

He sighed. He wasn't going on any date tonight. He would make some excuse about being sick. How, he didn't know. He had all day to plan, anyway.

* * *

After some deliberation, Luigi decided that the right time to execute his plan would be at dinnertime. To say he wasn't reluctant to do this would be an understatement, but he was desperate, very desperate, so he had little choice in the matter.

He only ate half of his meal, despite it being spaghetti bolognese, his favourite. When questioned, he answered that he wasn't feeling that hungry.

He waited half an hour for the sake of realism, and stayed in his room during that time, lying down with his eyes closed in case Mario or his parents walked in on him. That way, they couldn't hold anything against him if he claimed to be unable to go out tonight.

He already felt a little sick as he then headed for the bathroom. He was apprehensive, of course, but what could he do? He leaned over the toilet, sticking two fingers down his throat. He kept his gags silent until he was sure that he was close to vomiting.

The noises of Luigi throwing up attracted the attention of his family, who ran into the bathroom. At that point it wasn't even an act: Luigi really did feel wretched. A part of him wished he hadn't bothered... until he received flashbacks of his dream the night before.

"Are you okay Luigi?" Mama asked him.

"I feel so sick..."

"Aww, poor Luigi..." Both parents gave their son a hug, but over Mama's shoulder, Mario's eyes were narrowed, fixed on the guy in green. Luigi buried his face into his mother's neck, both to convey how sick he was and to hide the colour rising in his cheeks.

"So you're not going tonight, Luigi?" Mario asked in an odd tone.

"Mario!" Papa scolded. "Your brother's sick. Of course he's not going!"

"I-I'm fine, I can go," Luigi said.

"No! You're staying here. Mario, I'm sorry, but Luigi can't go. Look at him!"

"So who's Peach going to go with?"

"This isn't like you, Mario," Papa said. "You haven't asked once if Luigi was okay."

Luigi prayed that Mario wouldn't voice his suspicions. Mario was never the brightest when it came to schoolwork, but he was a pretty good judge of character when it came to his twin brother.

"You okay, bro?" Mario said unemotionally.

Luigi remained silent. The game was up; there was little point in pretending. Besides, he did still feel unwell. He couldn't go even if he wanted to.

Mario released a barely audible sigh. "I'll call Yoshi to replace you. And Daisy's parents to tell them about the change of plans. Okay?"

Luigi nodded, trying to ignore the knot of guilt in his stomach.

* * *

Yoshi was alone in his room, doing his homework. Normally he did them at eight o'clock in the evening on Sunday, which resulted in sloppy writing riddled with errors, but he'd been feeling a little different lately, more optimistic and motivated.

It was hard to believe how Birdo could have made such a difference in his life. If someone had told him a few months ago that he'd fall for a transgender girl - he even hated that label now - he'd have laughed and told them to stop kidding with him. Well, he wasn't laughing now - unless he was hanging out with Birdo. He was really excited for his date with her next Saturday...

His cheeks warmed. Since when had he gotten so sappy? At that moment, his mobile phone rang. He picked it up, and saw Mario's picture and name on the screen.

"Mario?" he said.

 _"Yoshi, I've no time to explain but Luigi can't go with Peach tonight. He's sick, apparently."_ Apparently? What did he mean by that? _"Are you free, Yoshi? I'm sorry, I honestly didn't see this coming. Can you replace Luigi?"_

"Uhh yeah, sure. But... where's the cinema?"

 _"Don't worry, Daisy's parents are taking care of that. I've rang them, they're okay with it. Are you sure you want to do this? I know it's short notice, but-"_

"No, it's fine. I don't mind. Bye Mario."

" _Bye."_

Yoshi hung up, and sighed. Did he really want to go on a date with Peach? She was one of the prettiest girls in school, and he knew that despite her lack of interest in dating, there were boys who would kill to go out with her, like Bowser. Even Luigi had liked her the previous year, though he never wanted to be her boyfriend.

 _He's sick, apparently._ Oh, now it made sense. It wouldn't be out of character for Luigi to fake an illness to avoid humiliation. He insisted that he no longer had feelings for Peach, but Yoshi suspected that he still liked her a little more than he let on.

He put away his books - the one time he was going to get them done early! - and placed them back in his bag. If he was going on a date, he may as well look like he was making an effort. Besides, it wasn't a bad thing. He could now boast that he'd gotten two dates in the space of eight days.

He opened his wardrobe. Actually, it was a very good thing Mario had asked him to go with Peach. Very good indeed. He realised that he had nothing decent to wear at all. At least now he had a week to get something presentable for his date with Birdo.

And speaking of which, what would happen if she found out about tonight? He could say he was just filling in for someone else, but... would she still be upset? Why had his life gotten so complicated all of a sudden?

* * *

Mario glanced at his watch as he stood at the doorway of his house. They should be here any moment. Ah, there they were. Mario couldn't help gasping in awe at Daisy's limousine. He hadn't gone out with her for that reason, but how rich _was_ his girlfriend? She didn't act like the average pampered princess, though there was no denying from her conversations with him that her parents spoiled and lavished all their love on her.

He was very suspicious of Luigi's bout of illness. The nauseating smell in the bathroom made it clear enough that he'd vomited, but he doubted it was a bug. How coincidental that it had to be tonight. He knew his twin too well to believe that he hadn't brought all of that on, though why Luigi would think that inducing vomit was better than facing a potentially awkward date was a mystery.

When the limousine was parked in the driveway, he waved goodbye to his parents and entered the vehicle. He smiled at Daisy, and told her she looked great, and he meant it. A lemon-yellow dress hugged her curves, and auburn tresses curled slightly, skimming her shoulders. Peach sat behind them, and was busy talking to Yoshi. From what he could see there was no real chemistry, but that was too much to hope for.

He smiled at his date once more, but found himself tongue tied. It was pretty easy to talk to her when they were dressed in their casual clothes, when they were at school or meeting up with all their other friends present, but now, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure if that was a bad sign for their relationship or not, though he did sometimes wonder if they were a little too friendly with each other.

After a short while he managed to converse with Daisy, and before he knew it, they were at the cinema. In a moment of bravery he took Daisy's hand, to which she responded with a smile. Perhaps it would go well after all - he was probably just paranoid after the commotion that had taken place beforehand.

They entered the cinema, and bought their sweets and popcorn. They sat close to the back row, and waited for the movie to begin.

"I forgot to ask you, Mario," Yoshi mumbled through his food. "What movie are we watching?"

" _Spaghetti_."

Yoshi raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Is that good?"

Mario shrugged. "It got fairly good reviews, so it must be."

Daisy smirked. "Of course you still had to think of food on our first date. What's it about? Let me guess - eating spaghetti?"

"You'll have to see, Daisy." Mario smiled at her, and she flashed him a wide grin. Perhaps he shouldn't be anxious about their relationship - just because she looked different didn't mean she wasn't the same person on the inside. But was it really bad that he was having doubts? Most of the time they were fine, but he had wondered a few times if this was what he wanted - if he was even ready for a girlfriend.

A sudden kick on his chair prompted him to turn around. It was Bowser, sitting with his arms crossed and scowling. Boo, Goomba and Koopa Troopa sat around him. Mario wasn't the most poetic person around, but he couldn't help comparing Bowser to a light bulb and his lackeys to moths, constantly surrounding him. Why did Bowser have to be here anyway? And right behind him, to top it all off?

"Mario," Bowser muttered, his voice sounding like a snarl.

"Bowser!" Mario grinned. "Haven't seen you in ages! What's up?"

Bowser clenched a fist, but his eyes were no longer focused on Mario. The guy in red followed his gaze, and saw that he was staring at Peach and Yoshi, laughing together. He wasn't surprised at Bowser's anger - there were rumours that he had a thing for Peach, though he denied them all. Now it looked as if those stories were confirmed. Mario noticed that he started kicking Yoshi's chair, likely searching for a fight. Bowser would need a lot of luck. Yoshi was too good-natured to bother with someone like Bowser.

Yoshi turned around, and Bowser smirked.

"Hey Yoshi."

"Hey?"

By then, Peach was glaring at Bowser.

"Wow. Didn't know you had a new girlfriend, Yoshi. Did she go out with you because she pitied the fat eighth grader in her year or something?"

Yoshi eyed him coldly. "No. Peach likes nice guys better, Bowser. I'm sure you learned that the hard way already, though, am I right? I heard Peach rejected you more than once, right?"

Whoa. Was this the same Yoshi who beamed at everyone and never had anything bad to say? He then remembered something Yoshi had said way back in sixth grade - that he didn't mind people making fun of his weight, as long as they were friends. He only had problems if they weren't close.

Well, there was obviously a problem with it now. And ouch... Bowser was too arrogant to live down that burn any time soon.

Bowser grabbed Yoshi by the collar and swung his fist back, but Yoshi managed to protect his face with an arm. It seemed as if the situation would escalate into a full-on fight, but Peach grabbed Bowser's arm and dug her fake nails into it.

"Don't you dare," she spat, "or I'll call security to kick you out. Leave me and my friends alone, or else!"

Bowser's smirk returned. "I'm sorry. You think I'm going to be intimidated by you? Go home and play with your dollies, princess, and get your pink nails off me."

Goomba chuckled. "Hey Bowser, are we at the insult stage now?" Bowser threw him a fierce glare. "Heh heh, just saying, I mean, I just thought that, um..."

Peach blinked, but didn't lower her gaze. Instead, she moved out of her seat. Mario's mouth fell open. Was Peach going to carry out her threat?

Bowser's face went slack with shock. "No Peach, I'm sorry. I was kidding. C'mon, you're not actually going to call security. Peach? Peach!"

Despite his pleas, the security had come within minutes and threw Bowser and his friends out. He didn't dare to protest this time, though he stared Yoshi, Mario, and Peach down in turn.

Mario heard snippets of Peach and Yoshi's conversation.

"... I shouldn't have said that... wasn't cool of me at all..."

"... don't worry Yoshi... just a jerk, anyway..."

"... still, it's not like me... should have said something else..."

Mario sighed. Now Yoshi felt guilty for something he didn't even start. Trust Bowser to ruin everything. For a moment he was glad Luigi wasn't here; he wouldn't have dealt with it as well as Yoshi. A part of him was glad Yoshi had stood up to the school bully, especially when that same bully happened to be his rival. On a different note, he'd gained some respect for the 'hot nerd', as people in his year sometimes called Peach. Her ditzy act and doe eyes hid a brain that did much more than learn for tests, that was for sure.

Within moments the movie started. Some parts were funny, but it was otherwise bland and unmemorable. He didn't think it deserved the good reviews it received. He glanced at Daisy; she looked even more bored than he felt. Great. This night was only going downhill. First Luigi was 'sick', then he had doubts about whether he really liked Daisy, then Bowser had to turn up and provoke everyone, and now his girlfriend didn't like the movie he had chosen? Like he always said when things went wrong, mamma mia!

Thankfully the rest of the night was reasonably good before he arrived home. He did, however, have a few words with Luigi when he saw him watching TV, eating a bag of jelly snakes and his face back to its usual colour.

"You faked it all, didn't you. To get away with going out tonight."

"How did it go?" Luigi asked, avoiding Mario's question.

"You would have known if you'd been there. Anyway, Luigi. How did you make yourself sick? Why did you even want to make yourself sick?"

Luigi squirmed under his brother's scrutiny. "I put two fingers down my throat. And... I just..." His cheeks darkened even more. "I just can't talk to girls, okay! It doesn't matter what you try to do, it's never going to happen! I'm not that type of guy! And Peach... I don't like her anymore, but it's even worse when they're pretty! How do you do it Mario? How come you got all the confidence and I got nothing?"

Mario sighed, wondering if he should tell him. "Luigi, I'm not as good as you think. Sometimes, I don't know what to say to girls either."

"You don't?" said the wide-eyed Luigi.

"Want to know what happened? I screwed up. I felt awkward half of the time, and I didn't know what to say just because she was prettier than usual. Think you're the only one who doesn't know how to talk to hot girls? And you know what Luigi? Daisy didn't even like the movie I chose. This whole night was one big screw-up. And now, I don't even know if I like Daisy that much. I'm not ready, Luigi. I'm not ready for commitment, for a long-term relationship. Yeah, you could do with more confidence, but you're not that much worse off than me."

Luigi could only stare at his twin.

"It had its good points though," Mario smiled. "Bowser turned up too. You should have heard Yoshi, Luigi, it was hilarious..."

* * *

 **And whoa, I can't believe I've joined this site a year ago, on the 19th of June! I wanted to post this chapter on the 19th of this year, but unfortunately it wasn't possible because I had to proofread this. For the record, my first fanfic was published ten days later, but I've been writing fanfiction a couple of months before that as rough work. Also, just a reminder that even though Daisy and Peach were called 'princess' by Mario and Bowser respectively, they are ordinary people who are just richer than the others, they are not members of royalty. That said, please leave a review!**


	7. Teachers Have Love Lives Too

**Hi! I'm giving a different character some importance in this chapter (a teacher, to be precise), so I'm interested to see how that'll go down. Enjoy!**

 **HiyaItsTails:** **Thanks for your review!**

 **Derick Lindsey:** **I'm happy you liked the part where Yoshi and Peach stand up to Bowser, it wasn't included in the original, rough version and it was kind of a last-minute thing (the date would have been too boring otherwise). And again, this chapter may be a little different from what you think... Anyway, thanks a lot for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668:** **Hopefully everything will go well for Yoshi in this chapter (you'll have to read it and see!). Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

"Sir," said Wario that day in math class.

"This had better not be a silly question, Wario... states Mr Bleck."

"It's not a silly question, answers Wario Mario. I just need help with question two." The class, unused to jokes from Wario, laughed uncertainly.

Mr Bleck sighed wearily, and walked over to Wario's desk. He was fed up with his eighth graders, always making fun of his unusual speaking habits, a trait he'd had since childhood that he couldn't seem to get rid of for long before it crept back in again.

Actually, no. He had had enough of life in general, not just school.

It had all started when he had fallen in love with Timpani Tippi. They had broken up five years previously, but he still liked to think of her: her thick, tow-blonde hair, warm brown eyes that twinkled when she was happy, her contradicting personality, shy in some situations and confident in others.

No, that was a lie. He didn't like to think of her; it only reminded him of what he had lost. His memories of her were far more painful than enjoyable. Maybe if he had been braver and stood up to his father, they might have still been together. But his father could only be described as a tyrannical control freak. Even in his adult years, Blumiere Bleck had been required to ask him permission for every thing he did. He wasn't exactly upset when he died of a heart attack, though he was devastated as far as anyone else was concerned. Too bad he hadn't died before finding out about his secret relationship and forcing him to break up with Timpani. His father had claimed to wanting to protect him, but Blumiere believed it was more to do with the power he held over his only son.

For years he had thought his upbringing was normal. But Timpani had opened his eyes; she had shown him what love truly was, that it wasn't synonymous to control or fear. When they had broken up, nothing else mattered to him. He studied to become a math teacher, not because it was what he wanted, but for two reasons: partly to distract himself from his grief, but mostly because it was _just what his father wanted for him_. Why else would he have done it, after all?

He had first gotten a job at Fire Flower Middle School, but this year he ended up working at Toadstool Middle and High School, due to circumstances. And of course, as fate would have it, who else happened to work there as a science teacher but Timpani Tippi herself, or Miss Tippi as she was known to the students. To say he was shocked would have been a deep understatement.

His father's curse on Blumiere was still alive, even after his death. The pain of seeing her almost everyday, but never holding her, openly loving her, was more unbearable than the years following their break up when he couldn't see her at all. She knew he taught here. Sometimes if they passed in the hallways, he'd catch her watching him with longing in her eyes, before turning away quickly. It gave him a little bit of hope, just a little. But what his father had done - what _he_ had done - was irreversible. And it was hard.

It was hard.

He always smiled though, always always always. If he could just keep that permanent smile plastered on his face, perhaps he could convince people that he wasn't as miserable as he felt. Or they might think he was a bit mad. Who knew? And who cared? He didn't.

As he finished showing Wario how to complete the problem, he heard whispering yet again behind him. This was happening all the time. He had to show them that _he_ had the authority in this classroom. He'd do a desk swap to see if matters improved.

"Everyone stand up and go to the top of the class..." Don't say it. Don't say it. "Orders Mr Bleck."

* * *

Yoshi sighed as he exited math class, without waiting for his friends. He had been placed next to Bowser and Goomba, who repeatedly passed notes to each other through Yoshi. He'd glimpsed a few of them by accident: all were messages along the lines of ' _Yoshi sucks'_. He had a good mind to confront them about it, but he felt bad enough for what he'd said at the cinema.

And speaking of Bowser, he had been thinking a lot about his date with Peach - who didn't hold a candle to Birdo, despite her good looks - and he resolved that he should let Birdo know. He had fears that, as revenge, Bowser would tell Birdo and make it sound like he'd been leading her on. As far as he knew Bowser wasn't aware or simply wasn't interested in his love life, but he didn't want to take any chances. Anyway, a good relationship required honesty. If he didn't tell her now and she discovered later, it would look like he was trying to hide something.

Also, he didn't like the idea of hurting Birdo.

He found her sitting alone at one of the tables at the back of the canteen, the 'loner's table'. She was watching Wario and his friends: from what he could see, a red-headed girl was annoying Wario, and judging from her mischievous grin, it was deliberate. He slid into a seat next to Birdo, and smiled.

"Hey," he said, hoping his nervousness wasn't as obvious as the last time.

"Hi Yoshi!" she said. "How are things going?"

"Yeah, about that..." He may as well get straight to the point. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Her dark eyes were filled with concern.

"I didn't want you to find out later and think I was dating someone else behind your back, but... yeah. I went on a date with someone last Saturday. I had to do it, because... It's a long story. One of my friends was going on a date with his girlfriend, and his brother was supposed to go with somebody else, like a double date, but he got sick at the last moment and I had to fill in for him. You've got to believe me when I say I don't like her that way."

She avoided Yoshi's eyes as she thought of what to say. He didn't care for the lack of emotion on her face.

"... Who is she?" she said slowly.

"Who is she? Umm..." This was going to be hard. Peach was pretty - Birdo would definitely think he'd ditched her for the blonde. "Peach Toadstool. You know her? Blonde hair, and-"

"Yeah. I know her." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "That pretty girl who's related to the principal."

"I think she looks average," he said, too quickly.

"Don't lie, Yoshi. She is pretty. It's fine. You don't have to try and make me feel better."

"What? That's not what I'm doing at all, Birdo. The point is, I like you, not Peach. I only went on a date with her as a favour, because I kind of had to, so my friend's double date wouldn't be ruined. And... I just thought you'd be suspicious if you found out later, even though there's nothing to be suspicious about." Birdo's mouth then widened into a smirk. "What?"

"Did you just say you like me?"

"Uhh..." His mouth fell open in horror. He shouldn't have said that - for all he knew, Birdo mightn't be interested.

"Well?"

"Uhh... I guess..."

Birdo stood up, and for a second, he thought she was mad at him. She put her school bag on the table, took out a notebook, tore out a sheet and scribbled something down. She pressed a piece of paper into the palm of his hand, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"See you on Saturday," she said, stepping away. "Meet me at Starbeans Cafe."

All Yoshi could do was stare after her, his face ablaze. When he finally read the note, it had a telephone number written on it. Birdo's number.

* * *

 **By the way, I know that in _Superstar Saga,_ Starbeans Cafe is a cafe that brews beans. In this fic, however, it's just an ordinary cafe. Also... now this is entirely coincidental, but I only realised a few minutes ago that Birdo somewhat disliking Peach makes sense, since in _Mario Strikers Charged_ , in one of the animations, Peach gets angry at Birdo, so Birdo does a 'talk to the hand' gesture and walks away (by the way, why is Peach so out of character in this game? And for the record I've never actually ****played this game - I'm just the type of person who watches Mario game cutscenes for fun. I don't know if that's typical of a Mario fan, but it's helped me write fanfiction that is truer to the characters, so really, it's a good thing for both me and you). Please review!  
Oh, and don't worry too much about Mr Bleck's speech... He won't always end his sentences with his own name (which would get annoying after a while), only sometimes.  
And oh, I almost forgot! After reading the reviews for the last chapter, I thought about making Bowser tell Birdo about Yoshi and Peach. However, I didn't think Bowser would have gone out of his way to sabotage a relationship - it seemed more like a Waluigi thing to do. Also, like I said in this chapter, he either isn't aware or doesn't care about Birdo (I'll leave it up to you to decide). However, those same reviews are actually what led me to write the Yoshi part of this chapter, which wasn't included in the rough version, so it worked out brilliantly! After all, it would be a realistic concern for Yoshi to have.**


	8. Date At Starbeans Cafe

**This chapter's about Yoshi and Birdo's date. Enjoy!**

 **aiai3668:** **Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy you liked how I portrayed Bleck.**

 **Derick Lindsey:** **You made a great point about Peach being more competitive in the spin-offs - possibly the reason Birdo isn't too fond of Peach. And it's true that everyone is angry in Strikers - even Mario shows more emotion than usual (Peach just struck me as the worst because she's normally so innocent and polite). Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **Yeah, I think it would have added more drama if I'd made Bowser tell Birdo as opposed to Yoshi, but I didn't think Bowser would bother - he's more about showing off his physical strength than trying to sabotage someone's love life, and most of all he didn't know about Birdo. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest:** **I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be using any characters from the original _Paper Mario_. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Kitkatkatester, skyoceanblu7 and mariofan21 for following and favouriting!**

* * *

Yoshi peered into the restroom mirror, glancing at his watch and realising just how early he was. Tonight was his big date with Birdo - and he was nervous. Very, very nervous. More nervous than he'd ever needed to be in his life.

What if he screwed up? What if he said the wrong thing, offended her? What if she...

What if she stood him up?

He gulped and tried to return to his usual optimistic self. Birdo wasn't a jerk, he knew that. She wouldn't do that to him, not after giving him her number. And besides, even if she _didn't_ show up, it was only his first crush. Looking at it from a logical angle, he knew he would get over it eventually.

But the word 'eventually' could signify anything. It could mean a few days, and the rejection wouldn't affect him too much. Or it could take him weeks, even months to get over Birdo, and first crush or not, it would be very unpleasant to deal with.

He leaned against the cool, tiled wall, and puffed out his cheeks. This wasn't like him at all. He was _positive_ \- not that he disliked either of them, but he was starting to sound just like Luigi and Toad, always fretting, always worried.

He looked in the mirror once more and fixed his hair. Breathe in, breathe out.

He was ready.

He stepped out of the restroom and sat on one of the cushioned seats, gazing out of the window. Just as the large hand on his watch hit the twelve mark, making it six o'clock, he saw Birdo step out of her car, wave at her parents and head inside Starbeans Cafe.

She was dressed simply - a pale pink blouse, with blue jeans and magenta flats - and now that Yoshi thought about it, she wasn't pretty. But he liked that she wasn't a stereotypical beauty; it made her more different, more interesting, more special.

After all, there was a reason why he hadn't crushed on Peach when he'd went on a date with her. Looks really _didn't_ matter.

His heart beat a little faster as she walked in the door, spotted Yoshi and waved at him, smiling. By the time she took a seat in front of him, his hands were clammy with sweat. _I can do this,_ he told himself. _I can do this._

"Hey," he said, grinning. Was a grin inadequate? Maybe he should have settled for a small smile, or a smirk...

"Hi Yoshi!" Birdo said, giggling.

He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "How's things?" he asked.

"Good. What about you?"

"Good as well."

They stared at each other and laughed a little, both unsure of what to say. Birdo was the first to break the silence.

"So... what are you thinking of ordering?"

"What do you think?" he chuckled, patting his stomach. "The biggest thing available, of course!"

Her shoulders shook with excessive laughter, and it was then that Yoshi realised: Birdo was nervous too. She may act confident on the outside, but she still felt exactly as he did. And for the first time that evening, he was genuinely able to relax.

The waitress arrived and took their orders, and Birdo eyed him in mock surprise.

"A slice of cheesecake? I doubt that's really the biggest thing on the menu."

He simply smiled. He decided not to tell her that he wasn't that hungry.

"So..." he said, changing the topic. "How are you settling in? Did you make any new friends?"

She shrugged. "Some people are nice... I'm sitting next to someone called Daisy in science and we got talking before the teacher came in. She's probably the closest thing to a friend, though I don't think we're going to be best friends. She's just... an acquaintance, I guess."

"Yeah..." Yoshi wondered if she knew about Daisy's friendship with Peach. "Daisy's pretty cool. She's my friend's girlfriend."

"Oh. Is that the one who wanted you to go on a double date with them? With Peach?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, glancing at the newly cleaned table. When he looked up, one of Birdo's eyebrows was raised, but there was no anger in her dark eyes.

"Anyway," she said, as eager to move on as Yoshi was, "I spoke to some other people too. They were okay. They weren't as judgemental as the people at my last school."

"Why? What were they like? In your old school, I mean?"

He wished he hadn't asked when a hurt look crossed her face. "I was bullied," she said softly.

Yoshi didn't know what to say as a long pause ensued. "Umm... It's okay if you don't want to talk about it..."

She shook her head, swallowing a lump in her throat. "No. It's fine. There were two groups: one of them were all girls, they called me names everywhere I went. Then there were the guys who beat me up after school every week. But you know what was worse? The taunting. People who weren't really bullying me, but whispered and laughed and pointed fingers at me. And those who didn't, stared at me like I was some kind of freak. Even the people I thought were nice never stuck up for me. I felt so alone," she finished, her voice breaking.

"Birdo, I'm so sorry," Yoshi said sincerely. He remembered how offended he'd felt when Bowser had made a nasty comment on his weight, leading Yoshi to insult him back - an action that was out of character for him. How could Birdo have coped with that five days a week?

She swallowed again and continued. "Eventually I couldn't cope anymore and I just came out with it to my parents. They were very supportive and promised they'd take me out of there once the year was out." She smiled a little. "Mom and Dad are the best. They were great when I told them that I didn't feel like a boy, that I wanted to identify as a girl. And... don't feel bad for me, okay? Everything's better now. People still stare and talk about me when they think I can't hear, but so what? They're not doing any harm, so it's fine by me." Her smile widened. "You never stared at me like that, though. Since my first day, you looked at me like... I don't know. Like I was special."

Yoshi felt his face burst into flames. Did he really look at her that way? But his initial embarrassment was replaced by joy. She seemed to take it as a compliment more than anything, judging from the twinkle in her eye.

They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, but the waitress, carrying their food on a little tray, was approaching them. Yoshi reluctantly tore his gaze away from Birdo as the waitress placed his slice of cake in front of him. They thanked her, and Yoshi nibbled at his food. He suspected that his lack of hunger was due to Birdo's presence. Maybe he'd finally lose some weight if he spent more time with her.

Suddenly he felt a surge of happiness. He was severely overweight, below average in looks and very friendly - not a 'bad boy' that all the girls were attracted to, or in any way suave. But she still liked him. At least, he thought so.

From there he thought of Mario and Daisy. Mario, though chubby, was popular enough with the girls, and some would even call him attractive; Daisy was now one of the prettiest girls in their year. Yet their relationship wasn't going that well; Mario was rapidly losing interest in Daisy, and Daisy didn't seem very content with him either.

And for the second time that evening, he realised that appearance meant nothing. Anyone could find love, it was what was inside that counted.

Gosh, he sounded like a didactic book, or movie.

He managed to finish off his cake with much effort. They didn't speak much, but they sneaked glances at each other the entire time. They didn't have much time left by the time they were done, so they put on their coats, stood outside and waited for their parents to come and pick them up. Yoshi's breath was visible in the cool air, and he turned to Birdo.

"When I was younger," he laughed, "I used to pretend that I was a dragon and my breath was fire." He chuckled. "It doesn't look much like fire anymore."

Birdo smiled. "That's cute. I used to love when that happened too... Except I didn't pretend to be a dragon."

"Yeah. I was a weird kid. Still am, except I'm not really a kid anymore. Now I'm just weird. And..." He gave a dramatic sigh. "People don't think it's cute anymore. I mean, what happened to the days when everyone loved us and everything we said was funny and adorable?"

"You're still funny," Birdo smiled. "And cute."

"Heh... No I'm not," Yoshi said bashfully, scratching the back of his neck.

"You are," she insisted, staring at a bright red car parking outside Starbeans Cafe. She turned to look at him once more, taking his hand. "That's my mom. Yoshi, I... This night was great. I had such a great time, and... I just want to say thank you. You've been so, so nice, nicer than most people I know." She leaned in and kissed Yoshi on the mouth, winking as she walked away. "See you, Yoshi."

It took a moment for him to wave at her, stunned, but never feeling better.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! The main issue I was discussing in this chapter wasn't even Birdo's identity. The point I wanted to make is that nobody should be bullied for any reason. We are all equal, and nobody deserves that treatment, no matter who they are. Please review!**


	9. Converted Bully

**I've started reading over _Mario and Friends - Middle School_ (the first one) just to make sure I'm not making any errors in this one... Let's just say I kind of want to rewrite a lot of it. I won't because at least it shows that I'm improving a little with time (I'm not perfect, but it's still a bit better), but I'm still not very pleased with it! XD Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

 **mariofan21: Don't worry; I have the entire series written out roughly, so I shouldn't be abandoning this unless there's a really good reason to (though it was written last year and my writing wasn't too good, and I sometimes change up the plot a little to make it more interesting, or edit a lot of the original content so it's good enough for publishing - hence the delay at times). Thank you for both reviews!**

 **aiai3668: Only time will tell! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **James Birdsong: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoyed them!**

 **Thanks to trufflebutter7 for following!**

* * *

Mario stared after Daisy that lunch break as she strolled away, her auburn ponytail bouncing with each step she took. They had had a great time joking with each other, Mario and Daisy and Yoshi and Toad and Luigi. Daisy fit in well with the boys - even Toad, who had been a little afraid of her at first, was gradually warming to her sassy ways, and Luigi seemed to be watching her more intently than he had the previous year.

And that was the problem.

For a start, he was beginning to suspect that Luigi had a slight crush on Daisy. True, he had always mocked him for that in seventh grade, but he hadn't meant any of it - besides, that was back when Luigi had a thing for Daisy's blonde cousin. But now, he could see that his twin had moved onto Mario's girlfriend. He knew Luigi would do nothing about it - he was too kind.

But if he was honest with himself, he didn't care if he did. Mario was losing interest in Daisy - they now acted more like best friends than sweethearts. She may as well have been one of his buddies. She was basically a guy who happened to be more visually appealing than his other companions.

He decided to voice his concerns to the others. If they couldn't figure out how to save their relationship, well, he would just have to face that it was all over for him and Daisy. He didn't think the redhead would be too upset - she treated him like a casual friend, too. But he didn't want to rush into a break up without some advice.

He stared at Toad for a few moments. He was the most blunt in their friend group; he would be the best one to talk to.

"What?" Toad said. "Do I have something on my face?"

Mario shook his head. "No, Toad, I - can we talk?"

All three of his friends turned to them, curiosity evident from their postures.

"Sure, Mario. What is it?"

Mario sighed. "It's Daisy. I don't think it's working anymore. I liked her at first, but... now I like her in a different way. Like a friend." Toad nodded as he took in Mario's words. "I was just wondering if I should try to save what we have, or should I break up with her already."

"I think you should break up with Daisy," Luigi said a little too quickly. Mario bit back a retort. Yes, Luigi was kind - but it looked as if he had selfish tendencies too. He knew Luigi's answer was more to do with his little crush on Daisy than helping his brother.

"Really?" said Yoshi. "I think you should give her another chance. She's nice, and funny - you mightn't get someone like her again."

"Are you kidding?" Toad looked at Yoshi. "I think she's kind of scary sometimes. With her loud voice, and... and her temper. She shouted at me once in P.E. just because I didn't pass the ball right and she blamed me for our team's loss... I'm still having nightmares over it. Not to mention that she hates my sister! The things she said about her the other day, and you all just laughed! You can do better than her, Mario, if you ask me."

"She's not like that!" said Luigi. "And it's Toadette's fault that Daisy doesn't like her. Do you even know what she did last year-"

"Come on, Toad," Yoshi interrupted, ignoring Luigi. "She only shouts at you because you let her. You need to stand up for yourself. And you know you like her, even if it's only a little bit."

"Okay," Toad admitted. "She's good in some ways. But Mario, I'm not trying to be rude, but I just don't see how you can like her _that_ way."

"I don't care what you think of Daisy!" Mario said. "I just need advice! What should I do?"

"Break up with her," Toad said. "If you don't like her anymore, it's never going to work - it'll end badly if you don't finish it now."

"I-I agree with Toad," Luigi said.

"I don't know," said Yoshi. "I think you should stay together for another month and see how it goes."

"I'll think about it," Mario said. "Anyway, Yoshi. You've been really quiet lately - you don't hang out with us as much either. Is something up?"

Yoshi gulped. He had been putting off talking about Birdo for a long time; he was frightened of what the reaction would be. Would they be accepting, or would they shun him? He had been friends with Mario and Luigi since elementary school; making new friends would not be easy.

But he couldn't keep his relationship secret forever. It would be hard, but he had no other choice. Now was the time to tell them. After all, Mario and Luigi weren't the judgemental type. And Toad had a kind heart, despite his sometimes brutal honesty.

"Actually, there is," he said, feeling his hands become clammy with sweat. Mario raised his eyebrows, and Toad and Luigi eyed him curiously; he couldn't back out now. "Yeah. Well... You know Birdo?"

"Oh yeah, the transgender girl!" Toad interjected. "Sorry. Continue," he mumbled when Yoshi glared at him.

"Anyway," Yoshi carried on, "I... I'm dating her."

There was silence as he avoided his friends' eyes. This was it - the day he would lose all his friends. He sighed. He felt better now that it was out - but would it have been better to hide it for longer?

"That's great!" Toad said. Yoshi's head shot up in surprise; Toad had a stunned look, but his smile was genuine. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Wow," Mario said, grinning, "I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Hey, just because I'm morbidly obese doesn't mean I can't get a girlfriend!" Yoshi said with a shaky laugh. Then, turning serious, "I thought you'd - I don't know - ditch me for that. I mean, she's... different. Don't you think... You're really okay with it?"

"We've no reason not to be," Luigi said.

Yoshi grinned. This was almost too good to be true, but he should have known better - his friends would never leave him. And that mattered even more than being Birdo's boyfriend.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the canteen, Daisy and Peach were chatting about Mario. But Mario was not the only one experiencing problems in their relationship - as Peach joked about her and Mario, Daisy found herself getting bored and wanting to change the subject.

Talking about Mario didn't give her the same thrill it used to.

Thankfully, Peach caught on to her lack of interest, and after giving her a strange look, moved onto what she was going to wear on Friday - the day before Halloween. All of the middle schoolers were allowed to dress up for the occasion, and since the high schoolers no longer did it, this would be their last year.

"I don't know, Daisy," Peach said. "I'd love to go as a witch, but I'm worried about it being too childish. Maybe it's better if I just go as a Goth. It's safer. What do you think?"

"Yeah. I'm going as a Goth too - and it is more mature than a witch."

Peach nodded, and returned to her food. Daisy looked around her as she ate a small pot of chocolate mousse. Now that she did more exercise, she could enjoy her food without any feelings of guilt or worthlessness, provided she didn't eat too much of anything unhealthy. She was never going to go back to her seventh grade self again, overweight and unhappy and afraid to stand up for herself.

So the last thing she expected to happen was to see one of her former bullies walk towards their table at that moment, visibly taking deep breaths and looking rather pale.

Daisy gave Toadette a fierce glare, but inside, her worst memories from the previous year were crowding her mind. Mimi, Pauline and Toadette snorting as she entered the school building, calling her 'piggy' - a juvenile insult now, but very hurtful at the time. Wearing baggy sweaters so her protruding stomach wouldn't be too obvious. Dreading P.E. every week, because she knew that was when the bullies were at their worst. And of course, the time she'd attended Toadette's party - why had she and Peach ever thought it would be a good idea? Unflattering pictures of her, decorating the basement; all of her year laughing except for Peach and Luigi. Her storming off; ringing her father to take her home early. And then, Mr Toadsworth not believing her when she finally had the courage to let him know what was going on.

To her credit, at least Toadette had been honest when questioned by the principal. But what on earth was she doing here now? She had no desire to speak to her. Daisy was done with Mimi, the 'ringmaster' - beating her at tennis during a P.E. class last month felt sweet, especially since her inability at sport was one of the main reasons they had taunted her - and she didn't care about Pauline or Toadette... provided they left her alone.

If Toadette was here to stir up more trouble, she would _not_ go easy on her.

"Hi Toadette," Peach greeted, smiling slightly. Daisy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Forgiving easily was a virtue, but did Toadette deserve to be forgiven? Besides, it was easy to forget about the past when she wasn't the one affected by it.

Toadette didn't say anything, but nodded and smiled a little in reply. She glanced at Daisy; the redhead scowled and turned away. Toadette didn't blame Daisy, and she wasn't expecting a warm welcome. But Peach had been kind to her a while back, sitting next to her once at lunch break and making an effort to talk to her. She hadn't forgotten, and she thought that maybe it was time to apologise properly for what she had done.

But Daisy was nothing like her cousin, and it didn't seem like she was willing to listen to her.

"Sit here," said Peach, patting the seat next her. Toadette gave one last look at Daisy, and hesitantly sat on the chair next to the blonde.

All three girls stared at each other awkwardly, none of them sure of what they should say next. Not that Daisy wanted to speak; but the silence had to be broken.

"Hi, Toadette," the redhead said, her tone icy. "What brings you here?"

Peach nudged her with her foot, but Daisy carried on.

"Decided you had enough of being a loner?" Her voice began to tremble; she swallowed. "And you thought that _we_ would be the ones to be your new best buddies?" She laughed scornfully.

"Enough, Daisy," Peach said quietly. "Hello, Toadette."

"Oh, um, hi," she said, playing with one of her plaits.

"Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah."

Peach nodded, and gestured to a container in front of her. "I'm kind of full now. Do you want to eat the rest?"

"S-sure." Toadette's hand shook as she took the grapes and began to eat them, trying to ignore the smirk that was forming on Daisy's face.

"Toadette?" She looked at Daisy, who was handing her an unfinished pot of mousse. "Eat this too."

"Oh, um-"

"Come on," she smiled sweetly. "Why not? You don't look like someone who cares much about your figure. You've really let yourself go since June, haven't you?"

Toadette's cheeks flamed. While Daisy had become prettier over the summer, Toadette had been miserable with remorse and had resorted to comfort eating, hence the recent weight gain. She was now almost as pudgy as Daisy used to be. Talk about karma.

"Daisy!" Peach said in shock. Then, to Toadette, "I'm sorry. I - I'm sorry."

Toadette shrugged as her face turned even redder. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry - for everything. That's what I came here for. I wanted to apologise for what I'd done - it wasn't cool." She tried her best to meet Daisy's cold glare. "It won't happen again, Daisy."

"Pfft!" Daisy sneered. To her disgust, after a moment of silence, Peach smiled and said it was alright.

"And... I was just thinking." Peach took a deep breath and gave her cousin an anxious look before saying, "Why... why don't we all go on a sleepover this Friday night to break the ice?"

Daisy almost spat out the water she had been drinking. A sleepover? A _sleepover_? With _Toadette_? Was she dreaming? Was this some kind of sick joke? She was rendered speechless as Toadette's eyes darted between her and Peach.

"Y-you don't have to do this, Peach," Toadette murmured, frightened by the look on Daisy's face.

"I insist," she said, kicking Daisy under the table once more. "So? Do you want to come?"

"Of course she's not coming," Daisy laughed disbelievingly.

"I want you to come, Toadette," said Peach. Daisy was seething with anger. Why did Peach have to be so stubborn?

Toadette gave a reluctant nod. "Y-yeah, I mean I'm free that day. Haha... why not, huh?"

 _Why not? Because you'll have to deal with me, you stupid, pathetic bully,_ Daisy said to herself.

"Okay, it's settled. Meet me at my house at seven o'clock, Friday night." Peach rummaged through her bag for an old copybook, tore out a page, scribbled down her address and handed it to Toadette. The bell rang at that moment, and all three girls stood up.

"Bye Peach. And... thanks."

"It's nothing. Bye!"

Daisy crossed her arms and said nothing as they parted ways. She didn't want to talk to Peach, and walked fast so her cousin would struggle to catch up. How dare she. How _dare_ she make plans with the person who had bullied her without consulting her first. How dare she!

"Daisy?" Peach ran after her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I know you're probably mad at me, but-"

"No, Peach. I'm delighted you did that. Thanks for not talking to me first." She shook herself free, and stormed off towards her classroom.

"Daisy? Daisy." The redhead looked behind her at Peach, who seemed upset. _As if she has something to be sad about. I'm the victim, not her._

"Daisy," she repeated. "You can't live this way. Being angry at them, it's not worth it. She's not that bad, I know she isn't. I told you before, she just got in with the wrong crowd. She has no friends, Daisy, and no matter what she did, I can't watch her sitting alone while we-"

"Fine. Why don't we start hanging out with Bowser while we're at it? He has it worse than Toadette. Nobody likes him, even his friends hate him. His mother is dead. His crush keeps rejecting him. He gets at least one detention every week and rarely gets away with bullying and nobody ever forgives him. Think about that, Peach."

Peach gave a defeated sigh. "I know, Daisy. I am sorry. I just felt bad for her, that's all."

"What about me, Peach? Didn't you think about me at all?"

"I'm worried, Daisy. I saw you with Mimi that day. You hate her, you hate them all. And I'm scared. You get angry easily. I don't know what you'll do if they rub you up the wrong way. You need to let go, Daisy. You need to-"

"Where do you think we're in, some kind of cheesy high school soap opera? What do you want to do next, give each other a big huge hug and make up and be best friends again?"

"I just want you to be happy, Daisy." Peach swallowed. "You can't hold a grudge on Toadette like that. She's sorry. And I'm sorry too. I should have asked you first."

"Are you really sorry?" Daisy folded her arms once more. "Then cancel that sleepover. Tell her it's off. Do it."

"Daisy, I can't do that!"

Daisy screwed up her face, like she was about to cry. "Come back to me when you finally care about my feelings, okay?"

"Daisy, I-"

But she didn't hear her, as she entered the classroom and sat at the back. She wasn't going to weep, not here, even if she felt like it. Her best friend didn't understand at all; and she couldn't even tell Mario, because truth was, she just didn't love him enough.

She hid her face in her hands and sighed in frustration. Peach wanted her to attend her sleepover? She'd go to her little sleepover. And she'd make her regret it.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! This chapter had to be completely rewritten since Daisy was too angry, and Peach was too cavalier. Daisy is still angry, but instead of acting like a brat like in the rough version, she is more hurt than anything else, and Peach is showing a lot more concern for her cousin.  
** **Also, on a different note, I was listening to the _Mario is Missing_ soundtrack while I was writing this (don't ask me why), and it's surprisingly good!  
** **That said, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this!**


	10. Explanation

**Derick Lindsey:** **Yeah, it's one of those situations where everyone is both in the right and in the wrong: Toadette was a bully but is showing remorse, Daisy was hurt in the past but is holding a grudge, and Peach wasn't considerate of Daisy's feelings, but at the same time was trying to forgive and please everyone. Also, I'll think about the Peach and Birdo thing, but I'm not sure if I can fit it in; I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **That was the moral of that chapter: it doesn't matter who you are, nobody has the right to bully another person. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668:** **Peach, Daisy and Toadette's sleepover, however it goes, will be a very important event for the plot. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Ben10extreme for favouriting!**

* * *

Blumiere Bleck sat alone that evening, idly listening to the news on the radio. There was rarely any good news, only bad. But then, when did anything positive ever happen?

He sipped at his tea, sighing. He should get around to correcting those math tests. But he already knew what the outcome would be: a big headache, coupled with thoughts like, why could the majority of his students only manage to achieve a C at most? What was he doing wrong? Or did he just have bad classes?

He dragged a hand down his face. Some of his students, particularly the seventh graders, were very demanding about getting their results back as soon as possible; as opposed to most of the eighth graders, who seemed to dread it. Teaching really did sap all of his energy.

As he reluctantly took a bundle of tests from his briefcase and began to correct the first paper - to his dismay it was Donkey Kong's, one of his worst students - he thought about Timpani. He was seriously considering finding a new school to work in - seeing her every day was too much pain for him to handle. He wasn't some sort of emotional masochist who enjoyed having to greet her in the hallways and pretending everything was okay. If he stayed, he would only be making himself more miserable than he already was.

Or, of course, he could just talk to her, as opposed to sacrificing his job.

He thought about it as he moved onto Peach Toadstool's test - finally, somebody who never let him down. Why not talk to Timpani, if his heart was already broken? He would ring her that night - if she had changed her number, he would talk to her in private the next day. He felt a little better as he got through the rest of the pile fairly quickly - thank goodness he had given them a short test.

When he reached the final paper - what were his parents thinking when they'd named their son Mario Mario? - he picked up his phone and searched for Timpani's number in his contacts - close to the bottom, since it was organised in alphabetical order. His hand shook as he clicked on her name. He took a deep breath, asking himself why he hadn't planned a proper speech and whether he would regret this the next day, and waited.

" _Hello?"_

His heart seemed to have stopped. It was fascinating how one word could affect him so much, when said by _her_.

"Hello... says Blumiere. Um." He sighed; he had to be honest. "Timpani, I... I believe we need to talk."

 _"Oh."_ She sounded confused. _"If - if you don't mind me asking... why now?"_

He gave a short, nervous laugh. "We are teaching in the same school now, Timpani. We cannot walk past each other like we are only co-workers. Besides," he added bitterly, "I think we will never be just that."

 _"Oh. I see. It's been a long time, Blumiere; lots of things have happened since then."_

For one terrifying moment, Blumiere thought she was referring to a new boyfriend.

 _"I don't have a boyfriend, if that's what you're thinking."_ She still knew him too well. _"What I mean is that I've waited a long time for an explanation, anything."_ Her voice shook. _"It hurt a lot, Blumiere. And if I'm being honest... it still does."_

He swallowed. "My father was a tyrant, Timpani. It was not that simple at the time. I - he forced me to leave you. There was absolutely nothing I could do. Need I say anymore?"

She paused, taking in the news. _"But couldn't you have at least tried to talk to him-"_

"You don't understand, Timpani!" he almost shouted. "I did try to talk to him! Do you think you mattered that little to me that I would not at least make an attempt to stay with you? He was a controller and a tyrant and my life has been better since he is gone!" He cleared his throat. "He died... says Blumiere."

 _"Oh. I'm sorry."_

"Don't be. I did not care much for him when he was alive and I am not going to start now."

 _"I understand, Blumiere."_ His mouth fell slightly. On the rare occasions he decided to be open about his feelings for his father, the reaction was usually one of shocked horror. In fact, not even his ex-girlfriend knew the full truth of what he had endured. But this was Timpani, and she knew him better than anyone. She was sweet and sympathetic and _different_ , even now, even when the years should have hardened her, even when she didn't know just how bad Father was.

 _"And... I hope I'm not being insensitive, but when he died... why didn't you try to ring me then?"_

He froze, gripping his phone tightly. Why hadn't he? Because he was a coward; because he was still irrationally afraid of his father; because he'd thought things would only get worse if he tried. He realised, then, that if they hadn't worked in the same school, he might never have given her the explanation she deserved.

He'd been so vague back then, the day they had broken up. He had simply said that he didn't feel the same about her anymore. He could still see her face in front of him, her eyes welling with tears before she'd turned away and sprinted out of his life. He shuddered.

"I'm sorry, Timpani," was all he could say.

 _"You're sorry?"_ Her voice was rising; this wasn't good. _"Five years later... and you tell me now that you're_ sorry _?"_

"I am sorry, Timpani." But he knew he was fighting a losing battle. No amount of "sorrys" would fix the years they had wasted.

 _"There was nobody to stop you then,"_ she continued. _"You could have told me, Blumiere! Do you know how long I had been waiting for that? Five years!"_

"I know, Timpani," he mumbled, defeated.

 _"I..."_ She sighed. _"I need to think... about all of this."_

"Of course, says Blumiere."

 _"... Goodbye, Blumiere."_

She hung up. It took him a few moments to realise that she was gone, and when he did, he slammed his phone down on the table and placed his head in his hands. They had talked things over alright, just not in the most ideal way. He had no idea whether she would want to speak to him again, whether she would forgive him...

It served him right after what he had done to her, he supposed.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	11. Sleepover

**Infinite's Ruby:** **Thank you for both reviews! As for the sleepover... you're going to have to read this chapter to find out! Glad you're liking it so far!**

 **aiai3668:** **Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to breath20k for favouriting!**

* * *

Excitement could be felt at every corner of the school building that Friday. It was the day before Halloween, and all of the middle schoolers were permitted to dress up for the occasion. Some costumes were scary, others bland. Some were homemade, others bought. Either way, the seventh and eighth graders were really enjoying their day.

Well, everyone except for Daisy. Daisy had woken up late and had been forced to go as a makeup-less Goth, and her costume didn't have the same effect as Peach's. That was without mentioning the fact that the sleepover with Toadette was taking place that very night.

Everything and everybody was annoying her. It was bad enough that she had to pretend to have forgiven Peach and agree to go to the sleepover - just so she wouldn't get suspicious - but when Luigi had started ranting about Waluigi getting one point above him in a history test and how he had kept mocking him about it, it was the last straw for Daisy. She ended up snapping at Luigi, and tried not to feel guilty when his stricken face kept popping up in her mind all day.

She couldn't even tolerate Mario. He seemed to have picked up on her bad mood, but his weak attempts at humour were cheesy at best and irritating at worst. After a while she asked him for some time alone. She didn't bother searching for his reaction this time.

She smirked ruefully as she walked into her last class, English. She wasn't going to let Peach get away with this. Peach had betrayed her in favour of a bully; Peach would pay.

* * *

That night, Peach began to prepare for the sleepover. She took some popcorn from the cupboard, and emptied some bags of candy into a bowl. She picked out a few movies - she'd let the other two girls choose. After some deliberation, she brought down her makeup and nail polish. Daisy had only recently developed an interest in makeup, and she hoped her cousin would cooperate.

As she waited for the others to come, she put on her headphones and listened to some music from her phone. She really hoped that Daisy was happy about this. She'd been friendly to her all day, and didn't talk about the sleepover. Perhaps that was a sign that Daisy was willing to give Toadette a chance? Or it could mean she was up to something. It was hard to tell what her motives were sometimes.

She still felt a nagging feeling that what she had done was wrong. She should have figured out a better way of being considerate towards both Toadette and Daisy, a better way of helping them leave the past behind and get on and even become friends. Was the sleepover being too forceful towards her fiery-tempered cousin?

Well, it was too late to turn back now.

She heard the doorbell ring, and she headed towards the front door. She opened up, and there stood Daisy, a bag in her hand and a huge grin on her face. A _false_ grin. Peach swallowed, and took a deep breath.

"Hi, Daisy," she smiled, trying to ignore the feelings of uncertainty building up inside her.

"Hi Peach!" said Daisy, brightly. By now, Peach was highly suspicious.

"Oh. Um... Daisy, I... I know you're probably upset about this, but... I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do anything... funny."

Daisy put a hand to her chest. "Moi? Never!"

"Please, Daisy," Peach pleaded.

Daisy flashed a seemingly genuine smile. "Don't worry. I'll try my best to get on with Toadette. I promise."

Peach nodded and decided to trust her. Though, Daisy's hands were behind her back; for all she knew, she could have been crossing her fingers as she said it.

"Okay. But I mean it, Daisy - there will be consequences. Of course, I don't expect you to get on with her right away," she said, shifting her weight from one foot to another, "but that doesn't mean you should be rude."

Daisy scowled. "I'll change my mind if you start acting preachy." She smiled again. "So, tell me. What are we doing?"

"The same thing we always do. Watching movies, eating candy, maybe do some makeovers too."

Daisy groaned. "Makeovers?"

Peach gave her a stern look.

"I know. I promised. I won't mess this up, Peach. Okay?"

"... Okay." The doorbell rang again. "That should be Toadette. I'll get it."

Daisy followed the blonde into the hallway, and Peach opened the door.

"Toadette!" Peach smiled, trying to make her feel welcome - she still wasn't sure about Daisy's promises. "Come in!"

An overwhelmed Toadette said hello back, stepped inside and shut the door behind her, gazing in awe at the high ceiling, the expensive furniture, the size of Peach's mansion. When she finally noticed Daisy, she took a step back in fear. Despite the tiny smile she wore on her face, the look in Daisy's eyes was hard, like it would turn her to stone.

"H-hi, Daisy," she stuttered, feeling her face heat up.

"Hi, Toadette," Daisy replied, her smile widening, but her gaze hardening some more. "How are you?"

"I-I'm fine," she mumbled, following Peach into the sitting room. Her small eyes bulged from her face as she looked around her. Her sitting room at home was cramped, with barely enough room on the couch for Toadette and her family to sit on, and their TV had been bought in the early 2000s and constantly malfunctioned. But this... this was beautiful. A bay window overlooked the night sky, with its full moon and twinkling stars. A flat-screen television set was perched on a mahogany stand, much larger than the one she owned at home. She could fit three whole families on the soft leather sofas Peach owned, and the wallpaper was a pretty shade of rose-pink, not vomit-green like what they had at home.

Toadette would kill for a place like this.

"So..." Peach said, arranging some DVDs in front of the girls. "I have some movies here. I'll go and get the candy and popcorn while you choose."

Peach walked into the kitchen. She was trying hard to be optimistic; maybe Toadette and Daisy would get on in her absence. However, as she carried some of the popcorn bags into the sitting room, she heard a rather heated conversation.

"No, Toadette, this movie's for babies. It's okay to have bad taste, but I am _not_ sitting through this. How about this one? It's less stupid."

"A horror movie? N-no way!"

"It is Halloween, in case you haven't noticed."

"I don't care! I watched a horror movie once, a-and I couldn't sleep for weeks!"

"Aww, isn't that sweet? Please tell me you were a small kid when that happened."

Peach coughed at the sitting room doorway, causing the girls to turn towards her.

"We're watching that one," she said, pointing to the DVD in the centre.

"But-"

"Case closed!" Peach said firmly, glaring at Daisy. The movie was an animated comedy, and soon all three teenagers were quietly watching it without any trouble. But when the movie began to get boring, Daisy started to play up again - she wasn't done with tormenting Toadette yet. She sucked one of the sweets for a few seconds, then placed it back into the bowl they shared. The others didn't notice the first time; when she did it again, they gave her weird looks, but said nothing, resolving not to touch the sweets for the remainder of the film. But by the third time, Peach openly scowled at her cousin.

"Don't you want a gummy bear, Toadette?" asked Daisy sweetly, ignoring Peach.

"Umm... No, thanks!"

"Daisy," Peach said in a low voice. "Stop."

 _You promised,_ Peach's eyes seemed to say. Daisy sighed loudly, but stopped. But, she still wasn't done. Everything she'd done so far was petty; she would figure out a proper way of getting revenge later on tonight, when the opportunity arose.

Thankfully for the others, the movie continued with no further problems, though the ending was corny and implausible. Peach stood up from the sofa, and arranged the makeup, hairbrushes and hair bobbles on the carpet. She instructed all of them to sit in a line, with Peach at the front, Toadette in the middle and Daisy at the back. Daisy almost laughed; wasn't Peach supposed to be the smarter cousin? Did Peach really expect her to do a good job with Toadette's hair?

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She felt nervous; it was an evil idea. Should she go ahead with it?

Why not? It would serve her right.

"Uhh, Peach?" she said. "I'll just go to the bathroom first. I'll be back in a sec!"

Peach nodded, and as Daisy made her way out, she turned to Toadette.

"I'm so sorry about Daisy, Toadette," she said, blushing slightly. She understood why Daisy was acting that way, but at the same time, she wasn't about to condone it.

"It's okay," Toadette swallowed. "I deserve it."

"You don't," said Peach. "I'm not going to lie - you really hurt Daisy last year. But you were still brave enough to stand up for her in Mr Toadsworth's office - she told me about that - and you were especially brave in apologising for what you did." She smiled slightly. "You're more good than bad, Toadette, even if you don't believe it."

Toadette gaped at her. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, excluding family members - maybe even including them. But was she really as brave as Peach was making out? She'd been a coward in staying with Mimi, joining in with her bullying and doing little to stop it, and when she did stick up for Daisy, it was too late. The principal hadn't even believed her.

Before she had a chance to disagree with Peach, Daisy arrived, hands in pockets and a smile on her face. "I'm back! So? Can we get started?"

"Yeah," Peach replied, sitting on the carpet. When all three girls had seated themselves into a straight line, Daisy asked Toadette what she would like; she asked for a French braid. Daisy didn't even know what kind of a hairstyle that was - but that didn't matter. What she was about to do was a lot more drastic than a simple braid, that was for sure.

She reached a hand into her left pocket, and put her fingers into the handles of the small pair of scissors she'd taken from the bathroom cupboard. Her heart began to race; this was so awful, so terrible, and she hoped she would never do something like this again.

But her desire to get revenge overshadowed her guilt. _Let's see how_ she _likes being ugly._

Ignoring her conscience, she grabbed Toadette's hair and snipped across it.

Meanwhile, Peach's breath hitched in her throat, unable to believe her ears. Was it just her, or did that sound suspiciously like a pair of scissors? But surely Daisy didn't hate Toadette _that_ much?

She was almost afraid to turn around, but did so anyway. One look at Toadette's hair and her shocked, wide mouthed expression confirmed her worst fears.

"D-Daisy..." Peach uttered. "What... what did you do?"

Toadette, finally realising just what had happened, began to hyperventilate.

"Daisy..." Peach repeated, an unfamiliar feeling of pure rage rising inside her. "Daisy!"

Daisy batted her eyelids. "You didn't say scissors were banned."

Peach waved a hand in Toadette's direction. "Have you looked at her hair, Daisy?"

"Does it look like I care?" Daisy scoffed. "So she can call me fat, and pig, and elephant, and it's fine _just because she said sorry_? Seriously, are you kidding me?"

"It's going to take so long for her hair to grow back," said Peach, raising her voice. "Did you think of that?"

"I did. And it'll take just as long for her hair to grow back," she pointed at herself, "as it did for me to get this body! So we're quits." She put her face closer to Peach's. "So don't you dare tell me that I'm being unfair."

"You are being unfair," Peach growled. At that point, Toadette had begun to cry quite loudly. "She apologised."

Daisy sneered and shook her head. "I told you, I don't care. Is "sorry" going to fix everything that happened last year? And _you're_ being unfair, because you're the one who invited Toadette here without even talking to me first!"

Peach lowered her gaze, then raised it again, mentally counting to ten.

"Daisy? I need you to leave."

"With pleasure!" Daisy scowled viciously, and stalked off - then returned and peeked in.

"Oh, and Peach? I'm not going trick-or-treating with you tomorrow. Just to let you know."

"I wasn't going to ask you!"

Daisy stormed out, her footsteps pounding against the tiled floor, and slammed the door behind her, the sound reverberating through the house. Toadette was rubbing her eyes, and Peach gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, saying nothing. At that moment, Peach's mother arrived in the sitting room, frowning at her daughter.

"Peach, you really shouldn't speak so loudly. You must use your indoor voice when you're inside- Oh. I didn't know you'd invited someone here."

Peach gave her an uneasy smile. "Hello, Mama. Mama, this is Toadette. She's someone I know from school."

"Hello, Toadette," said Mrs Toadstool, eyeing the girl's casual appearance in blatant disapproval. Peach tried not to pull a face - she wished her mother wasn't so snobby. Then, when she noticed her tear-stained face, "What happened?"

Peach's tone turned more sober. "It was Daisy. She and Toadette, they... didn't get on last year, so she... cut her hair."

Mrs Toadstool gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. When she got over the shock, she sniffed and said, "I shouldn't be so surprised. It's just the kind of thing she would do. I was never fond of your cousin - I always thought my sister and especially Rick spoiled her too much. You're better off without her."

Oddly, Peach felt indignant. "She's not that bad, Mama."

"Don't be silly, Peach. You've been stuck together for too long, it's about time you made new friends."

"But-"

"No buts." Her eyes flicked over to Toadette. "You can't keep your hair like that, Toadette. Luckily, I used to work as a hairdresser, so I should be able to sort it out."

Toadette threw her a look. She didn't know whether to feel insulted, or grateful.

Peach handed Daisy's scissors to her mother, and Mrs Toadstool led Toadette and her daughter into the kitchen. Toadette sat on a chair, while Peach's mother stood behind her. She snipped at her hair, tilting her head occasionally. She left the room when she was finished, and returned with a mirror. When Toadette peeked at her reflection, her eyes welled up with tears once more.

"It's the best I could do," Mrs Toadstool said apologetically. "It's a very long time since I cut anyone's hair apart from Peach's, and Daisy had cut off a lot."

"Oh no, it's - it's nice. Th-thanks," Toadette choked out, trying to sound thankful even as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

Peach could understand why Toadette was still upset. It wasn't that Mama hadn't done a good job - the pixie cut simply didn't suit the girl's round face.

Toadette buried her face in her hands, giving up all attempts at acting pleased. Her hair was now only slightly longer than Toad's. If she wasn't careful, people might mistake her for a boy.

 _But, she deserved it._

The three females were quiet for a long time, with a few sobs breaking the silence from time to time. No words could describe what had taken place that night. Peach had invited Toadette to her mansion at the intent of patching things up with her and Daisy. Instead, Toadette had received terrible treatment from Daisy, Daisy was furious at both of them and Peach had a desire to cry just like the reformed bully.

Eventually, Toadette requested that she didn't stay the night and went home; she proceeded to ring her mother. Mrs Toadstool then suggested that they watch some television before Mrs Mushroom arrived. Neither felt like obeying Peach's mother; nevertheless, they headed into the sitting room and idly flicked through the channels, their minds elsewhere.

* * *

Daisy rang the doorbell of her house so forcefully that she thought the button would get stuck if she didn't stop. It was one of those times when she felt like screaming, or punching someone, or _anything_ just to relieve her anger. She hated Toadette. She hated Peach. She hated bullies who thought they could steal her best friend just because she'd said sorry. She hated cousins who betrayed her because they were too soft-hearted to remember the past. But most of all...

She hated herself.

She hated that she lost control so easily once fury overtook her. She hated her lazy, gluttonous seventh grade self, who had let people taunt her when she could have nipped it in the bud, before it got out of hand. She hated having to face her parents after doing such an awful thing.

Her father opened the door after a bit, his smile wide, which faded once he saw Daisy's expression. "What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay? Why are you back so early?"

Daisy barely muttered a greeting before pushing past him and running up to her room.

"Daisy?" Mr Rose called. "Daisy! Come down!"

She didn't reply.

He scratched his head in confusion. Something was clearly wrong, but he was sure that she would tell him in her own time.

Half an hour later, his phone rang in his pocket and he took it out. It was Peach's mother; maybe she would offer an explanation.

Fifteen minutes later, his rage matched his daughter's, lying on her bed upstairs.

* * *

Daisy was met with cold stares when she walked into the dining room the next morning. She felt less anger now, and more remorse; but it was too late to reverse last night.

She suspected that her mother and father had found out. Even nine-year-old Azalea, her sister who was usually oblivious to family happenings, was peering over her cereal bowl, waiting for something to blow up.

Daisy toasted some bread, and sat at the table. For a long time, nobody spoke.

Then her father lost his temper.

"How dare you?" he said quietly, his warm blue eyes looking less friendly and more menacing. "How _dare_ you do that to _anyone_!" he shouted, making both Daisy and Azalea jump. "I have never been so embarrassed in my life. Peach's mom told me everything! Thought you'd get away with it, huh?"

"I-"

"Well you thought wrong! You're grounded, grounded for one whole month, got it? One whole month! Apart from going to school and coming home, you are banned from leaving the house! We'll take your phone away! We'll make you study each and every night for a whole month! Why did you do it, why?"

"I don't know..." Daisy faltered. This outburst was scary, and this was coming from the girl who had witnessed many of them.

"Answer me! Why did you do it?"

"I don't know."

"Why. Did. You. Do it? Come on Daisy, why did you do it?"

Daisy looked down and bit her lip. Suddenly, she was tired of being the villain. It was time to show her family what her motives were.

"I'll tell you why I did it," she said, trembling. "Ever wonder why I took up sport for no apparent reason? Ever wonder why I'm not fat anymore?"

Both her parents blinked. They _had_ wondered about it, they still did, but when they'd asked Daisy at the time, she had made an excuse about needing to get fit. It never occurred to them that she might have been unhappy with her body. Daisy had always been a tomboy - she never seemed to care about her appearance.

"Daisy," Mrs Rose said softly, "you weren't ugly. Don't say that."

"I was ugly," Daisy murmured. "I even got bullied for it. And you want to guess who did it?" Her voice gradually rose. "Mimi, and Pauline - you wouldn't know them - and - wait for it - Toadette! Toadette who's such a saint, right? They called me names every single day! Oh, and remember that night I came home early from Toadette's party? That wasn't because I felt sick - Mimi got her friends to take pictures of me, print them off and put them on the basement walls for everyone to see. Everyone, except for Peach and Luigi, laughed." Tears began to form in her eyes at the memory. "How do you think I felt? How do you think I fricking felt, having over a hundred people laughing at me? And everyone expects me to be nice to _them_?"

Her parents stared at her, their faces frozen with shock, but their eyes reflecting the pain they felt, at not having seen this sooner, at not having helped their daughter.

"But... why didn't you say anything?"

"I did!" Daisy shouted. "I told the principal, but he said - he said that without proof he couldn't do anything."

Mr Rose's temper returned. "I'm going in on Monday. I'll give old Toadsworth a piece of my mind."

Daisy's eyes widened in panic. "No Daddy, don't do that! It's all blown over - you're going to make everything worse!"

"I swear on my life, I'll be there first thing on Monday morning," he continued, ignoring Daisy. "And I'll be ringing that girl's mother too!"

"Please Daddy, Toadette wasn't really involved! I mean, she was, but the others did much worse! Please, don't tell Mr Toadsworth!"

"Your father is right, Daisy," Mrs Rose said. "We can't let them get away with this. We're still going to punish you for what you did to Toadette, but at least we know there was a valid reason."

Daisy gawped at her mother, momentarily stunned. She had always loved Daddy a little more than Mommy, and was surprised to hear her mother sticking up for her.

But she was still very worried about Monday. For once, she wished her father wasn't so loyal to his family. And arguing further wouldn't help - she knew from experience that his fury would only fizzle down when he got his way.

She groaned silently and tried her best to force down her toast, which tasted as dry as dust.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	12. Remorse

**This is honestly disgraceful, I'm so sorry for making you all wait over _six months_ for an update, but I simply lacked the motivation, not to mention time wasn't on my side... I would recommend you at least skim read the previous chapter because chances are you might have forgotten what had happened. Hope you enjoy!  
Thanks to aiai3668, Derick Lindsey and Infinite's Ruby for reviewing and ****PineapplesUnderPipes for following!**

* * *

Daisy had only been in Mr Toadsworth's office twice before today: once for being enrolled at the school, and the second time when she had spoken out against Mimi, Pauline and Toadette in seventh grade.

This third time reminded her all too much of the latter situation - the knot of fear in her stomach, as mounting dread made her feel like she was going to vomit. The only difference was that now, her mother was sitting next to her and her father, due to the shortage of seats, was standing up, a supportive hand on his daughter's shoulder. And that made it all the worse.

Why couldn't they just see that anything they did now would only make things worse? Why couldn't they see that the incident had blown over? But she simply sighed, and said nothing.

The silence was painful as Mr Toadsworth finished his work. When he finally put down his pen and peered from beneath his glasses at the three people in front of him, Daisy's father lost the temper he had been holding in.

"You're a cruddy principal, you know that?" Mr Rose said in a low voice that gradually increased in volume. "Are you blind, or are you just that stupid? You should be sacked! I'm taking this to court -"

The principal cleared his throat. It wasn't the first time he'd had this kind of abuse hurled at him, but he still became flustered when it happened. "Kindly explain your point, Mr Rose."

"My name is Rick!" he barked. "I mean, we - we know each other! Is it true that my daughter was bullied and you did nothing about it? Is it true?"

He hesitated, remembering. "Well, there was a bit of an incident a few months ago, but it's been dealt with -"

"Dealt with? _Dealt with_? That's not what my daughter told me at the weekend."

"Hmm?"

Mr Rose told Daisy's side of the story to the principal, shouting and cursing as he did so. Daisy cringed. Her dad was so embarrassing...

"Hmm," Toadsworth said when Mr Rose had finished, leading to a disbelieving look from Daisy's father.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself? At least try to be a decent principal!"

"Rick, please." Daisy's mother placed a hand on his arm.

"Yes, but as we've explained to your daughter," Mr Toadsworth replied, "we need proof before -"

"Pfft." Mr Rose shook off his wife's hand. "You and your stupid rules. They all told the same story, and you're going to believe a couple of lying brats? For shame!"

Mr Toadsworth resisted the urge to shrink into his seat and avoid the angry father's gaze - his niece's husband's temper always had this effect on him.

"Well, I suppose we could investigate further into this..."

"About time!"

Mr Toadsworth nodded, his decision made. "Alright. I will summon the girls."

Daisy swallowed hard. She was in an enormous amount of trouble now. Toadette hated her already without all of this. She bounced her leg up and down, flicking her eyes every so often in the direction of the door.

When Mimi, Toadette and Pauline finally arrived, all she could do was stare at them apprehensively. Toadette - had she really cut her hair that short, she thought in shame? - and Pauline had a look of fear on their faces; Daisy was surprised not to see any anger in the former student. To the redhead's surprise, even Mimi had a small, worried frown when she saw Mr and Mrs Rose, though she hid it well under an uncaring attitude.

Mr Toadsworth gave them a stern glance, pushing up his silver-rimmed spectacles once more.

"Now, girls," he said, his warm brown eyes cool as he regarded the trio standing in front of him. "As you may remember, there was a bit of an incident last year concerning all three of you, along with Miss Daisy. Miss Mimi," he said, turning to the blonde, "I would like you to repeat your story as to what happened - unless, of course, you _lied_ to me when you were last in this office?"

Mimi pouted. She didn't know why Daisy had decided to get it re-sorted out months later, and she didn't know what her parents had to do with all of it, but she did know one thing - due to having only seconds to prepare an excuse, it was going to be much harder to get away with it this time.

"I told you, I only called Daisy fat once," she said, trying to recall the story she had told months before - thank goodness she had a good memory. "Okay, maybe twice, but not more than that. And... I didn't want to say this the last time, but actually, Daisy called me ugly first. It wasn't unprovoked. I would never bully anyone, Mr Toadsworth!" Mimi finished, clasping her hands, but not quite fooling the principal. Inwardly, he wondered how he hadn't seen how fake she had looked and sounded at the time - he must have been very tired that day. Or else Mimi's acting skills had deteriorated over time.

But he was a man who thought himself to be a fair person towards his students, and while favour was wavering towards the grand-niece he rarely met, he had to target the situation from all sides.

"Is this true, Miss Daisy?" he asked, hoping that his tone conveyed sympathy. Judging by her reaction, it didn't.

"No!" cried Daisy, her fists clenched. "She's a liar!"

The principal held up a hand. "Quiet, Miss Daisy. Miss Toadette, please tell me your side of the events."

Toadette's story, like the previous time, was similar to Daisy's, her voice wobbling as she tried not to cry. To her credit, Daisy admitted grudgingly, Toadette was nice enough to keep quiet about the sleepover. Her hair made her look like a pudgy, ten year old boy, and frankly, Daisy wouldn't have blamed her for telling on her. It had occurred outside school hours, but still...

She might have to re-evaluate her opinion on Toadette. One day.

Next came Pauline, and to Daisy's surprise, she didn't lie like the previous time, and her story, again, matched the others', excluding Mimi's. At the end, she mumbled an apology for not having been honest the first time - she revealed that she had lied purely out of fear.

"Hmm," Mr Toadsworth said. "Well, it looks as if there is some mistake." He glanced at Mimi. "But without proof..."

"You're still going on about that proof thing?" Rick muttered angrily. "Isn't everything we said enough to convince you?" He pointed a finger at the principal. "Maybe if you stopped playing favourites with Miss Doll-Face you'd get to the bottom of this quicker!"

Daisy blushed. If somebody didn't stop him now, he would end up making a fool of himself and his family.

It was Pauline who saved Daisy from lifelong humiliation as she timidly raised her hand a little. "Mr Toadsworth?"

"Yes, Miss Pauline? Do you have something to add?"

"We don't have any proof, Mr Toadsworth, since I've deleted all the pictures," she explained. "But I can tell you that everything the others are saying is true - apart from Mimi, obviously."

Mr Toadsworth eyed her curiously. This wasn't the revealingly dressed student he knew who disrespected the teachers and disregarded the school rules, _his_ rules; this was a girl who was willing to accept a potential punishment for the sake of justice. Either Pauline was good friends with Daisy - and he highly doubted it - or she was telling the truth.

"Mimi forced us to do everything, Mr Toadsworth," she continued. "I'm not defending our actions, but it's true - we did it, all of us. Why else would Toadette and I get ourselves into trouble?"

"I think that's proof enough," Rick Rose scowled.

"Yes," the principal nodded. "But why on earth didn't you tell me this before, Miss Pauline? It is very serious to lie at the expense of others." His expression turned grave. "It is lies like these that lead to things like self-hate, self-harm, depression, even suicide."

"I told you, I was scared," Pauline mumbled, unintentionally sounding defiant. What if Daisy had taken her own life because Pauline had been a coward? The tall brunette was glad that it never happened, but the idea that it was a possibility made her stomach churn.

Mr Toadsworth shook his head, but moved onto Mimi. "Miss Mimi," he said sternly. "Can you offer any explanation, after hearing these three girls' stories, for your behaviour? Or do you still maintain that you are innocent?"

Mimi's face grew red as she avoided the principal's gaze. She was tempted to spin some more tales to defend herself, but for once she was unable to concoct anything. Too little time to prepare, Mr Toadsworth no longer on her side, Daisy's parents involved... It wasn't worth it.

But if they thought she was going to break down and apologise, they had another think coming. She wasn't sorry anyway - they were all pathetic. She'd already known Toadette was an idiot, but even Pauline had succumbed to her conscience in the end. And Daisy... _why_ did all of that still matter to her? Mimi's mother and father had spoiled her, but they'd also taught her how to be tough, how to brush off every insult that came her way. Why couldn't more people be like her? Why all the focus on what was right and wrong?

For a moment she felt a twinge of something unfamiliar, right in her chest, when she thought of what she had done at Toadette's party. Daisy's face, disbelieving at first, then contorted with rage... Then the feeling was gone, and she balled her hands at her sides.

"Fine!" she shouted, startling everyone in the room. "I did do it. Everything they said, I did it. Everything Pauline and Toadette did, I told them to do it." She smirked slightly, not caring about her reputation - it was already damaged beyond repair, so she may as well have some fun and reveal what she thought of them. "I called Daisy a few names. Big deal. I know people who get beat up after school. Go deal with the real bullying."

"Miss Mimi!" the principal interrupted. "Names are never just names. They can create deep psychological wounds -"

"Well, it did her good in the end..." Mimi waved a hand at Daisy, making a reference to her new figure.

"Miss Mimi, I cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour in my office!"

"Fine. Go ahead and give me detention, suspend me, whatever. Screw you and your dumb school anyway."

The elderly principal wondered if he was hearing things as a result of age. He had never witnessed so much impudence from a student in his life, and he had dealt with Bowser Koopa.

"M-Miss Mimi!" he stammered. "You... As I was saying..." He cleared his throat. "Well, as you have admitted to what you have done wrong, I will have to deal with you appropriately. I will give you a week's suspension - that's five school days - and when you return, you will also be given two weeks' detention after school - one week for telling harmful lies, and another week for the treatment of your school principal. Do you understand?"

Mimi shrugged. She no longer cared about staying out of trouble; the main thing was to act nonchalant, even if a tiny part of her felt slightly off. Could it be shame?

No. She never felt remorse, unless her behaviour had consequences for her.

Then why did the feeling persist?

The principal sighed, and turned to Pauline and Toadette. "As for the two of you... You will also be suspended for a week, though you will not receive any detention." He faced Daisy, trying hard to meet her gaze - to say he was embarrassed was an understatement. "Miss Daisy, I cannot apologise enough for what you have gone through - I failed you. I hope we have put things right once and for all -"

"You really think my daughter is going to buy into that?" Mr Rose snorted. "We all know you're just trying to save your precious job, in case we decide to sue you. What if she'd developed some eating disorder because you were too stupid to see that that brat was lying? You hear so many stories these days -"

"It's okay, Mr Toadsworth," a mortified Daisy interrupted. But something didn't feel quite right, even though she knew that their punishment was fair. She didn't feel bad about Mimi, of course, but Pauline and Toadette? They had stood up for her, hadn't they? And Toadette didn't have to do that, not after Daisy had given her an unflattering, unwanted haircut.

Daisy held grudges for too long and had a temper that rivalled her father's, but now, those flaws were being pushed aside as she finally began to see things through Peach's perspective. Pauline was making amends for all she had done, and Toadette had done even more to make up for the past. They were _sorry_ , and the reasons Daisy had for hating them suddenly seemed invalid.

Maybe it was time to accept their apologies and move on. And maybe she could do something for them in return.

"Um... Mr Toadsworth?" Daisy said, raising her hand slightly just as he was about to finish up.

"What is it, Miss Daisy?" he responded, almost wearily.

She coughed and flushed slightly before continuing. "Sir, I... I hope you don't mind me saying this, but Pauline and Toadette, do you... Would you... Would you mind cancelling their suspension?"

The principal's eyes widened. First the girl's parents were complaining about a group of bullies, and now Daisy wanted them spared of the punishment they deserved? Was this another one of those weird dreams he sometimes had after a stressful week? He pinched himself. He blinked three times. But no. This was no dream.

"They stuck up for me," she continued. "They made up for it. Besides, a detention's more than enough. If you don't mind me saying so," she added hurriedly.

"But... But what about Miss Mimi...?" Mr Toadsworth faltered, wondering if he was getting a bit old for the job.

Daisy's look hardened. "No."

"Is that really fair, Miss Daisy -"

"She hurt me so much. I hope nobody goes through what she did to me."

A dazed Mr Toadsworth shook his head. He had lost much of his dignity in less than an hour; he couldn't have students bossing him around and correcting his decisions! What would come next, teenagers trying to fully take over his position?

"Miss Daisy, I'm afraid that is not possible. Well, for Miss Toadette I could, as she has told the truth in the past when asked for it. But Miss Pauline, no." He coughed. "Miss Toadette, you will only get a detention - I will cancel your suspension, but only because Miss Daisy has a valid point."

"Thank you so much -"

"Don't thank me, thank Miss Daisy. In other circumstances, you would not have gotten away so lightly with your behaviour."

Toadette threw Daisy a look that conveyed both shock and gratitude.

"Now, I'm afraid that we are running out of time, and since everything has been dealt with once and for all, is there anything anybody would like to add?" Nobody spoke. "Good. Then this meeting is over. You may leave for your classes."

* * *

Daisy felt a little lightheaded as she went about her day. It was so hard to believe that now that it didn't matter, Mr Toadsworth had finally listened to her story. It was almost surreal.

She also supposed that, for the past to truly be behind them, she would have to talk to Toadette. She decided to do so at lunch break - but when the bell rang and she headed for the canteen, she found herself feeling uncharacteristically nervous. She was sure Peach hated her, and even Toadette might not have fully forgiven her.

But, to her surprise, both Peach and Toadette had unreadable expressions on their faces - not mad, but not overly delighted to see her, either. But still not angry, not in any way.

"Umm," Daisy stammered, her hand hovering over a seat in front of them. She didn't bother getting any food; too much had happened for her to feel something as mundane as hunger.

Peach nodded, answering Daisy's unspoken question. Slightly relieved, the redhead pushed out her chair, and sat down.

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," Daisy mumbled sullenly. She never did like admitting she was wrong.

"I have some idea," Peach said in a low voice.

Daisy was silent for a long time, before forcing her eyes to meet Peach's. "I'm sorry for ruining your sleepover. Really, I am." Then, she moved her gaze to Toadette's - it was all she could do not to look away. "And I'm especially sorry for what I did to your hair. And how I treated you. It wasn't cool, at all."

It was Peach and Toadette's turn to stay quiet, as Daisy averted her eyes, fiddling with her hands. If they didn't forgive her, she wouldn't blame them; then she would only have Mario and Luigi to rely on, and she didn't fancy the idea of talking about female problems with guys. It wasn't just that - Peach had been her best friend all of her life, the kindest, most understanding person she knew.

Life was going to suck horribly without Peach.

But, being the forgiving girl that she was, her blonde cousin leaned over the table, giving Daisy a quick hug. When she pulled back, a small smile was etched on her face.

"I heard about how you stuck up for Toadette," she said, and Toadette smiled a little, too. "We know you wouldn't have done that if you weren't sorry."

"My parents would have killed me if I'd gotten suspended," said Toadette. "Well, more than they will already. I'm sure Mr Toadsworth's going to tell them everything."

Daisy hung her head. "I didn't mean to stir that all up again -"

Toadette cut her off. "Don't sweat it. It's fine. Actually, I feel better in some ways - lighter, if you get what I'm saying." Daisy nodded - guilt was a terrible burden to carry around.

"And please..." Toadette smiled again. "Don't worry about my hair. Short hair isn't too bad once you get used to it - washing, drying and braiding my hair was a drag anyway. And I don't have to worry about the frizz!"

Daisy knew she was lying, but didn't comment. Instead, she focused on rebuilding her friendship with Peach for the remainder of the break... and, in an unexpected turn of events, genuinely trying to like Toadette.

* * *

 **I really hope this was worth the wait. Again, I'm sorry for making you all wait that long - it's the longest I've ever been. Please review! (and let me know if this chapter was too fairytale or unrealistic)**


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